Light of Heaven
by zheil
Summary: During the fight against Kazuto Hongo and Saji, Kei Tokiwa interfered when Kazuto was struck and instead was the one responsible for shattering the mirror. With the mirror shattered, Kei Tokiwa was the one who was transported back in time during the even of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Now as the Messenger of Heaven, Kei is followed by Kan'U and Rinrin in their quest to end wars.
1. Chapter 1

"From Heaven Above"

Kei Tokiwa on one of the branches of the tree that stood just near the dorms, it was his usual hang out place and it felt good to feel the cool air pass his face. He was a young teen with neck length white hair thanks to genetics and blue eyes. He wore a normal Japanese white school uniform.

It was quiet, relaxing and refreshing, three things that he liked. The day was going to be as normal as it is until…

"Kei! Get down here fool!"

Kei looked downed from the branch and saw his old friend, Alexander 'Alex' Cromwell. Alex was a half-Japanese and half-American teen with short blond hair and blue eyes, he mostly had inherited his father's looks. Like Kei, he wore the white school uniform.

"What's up Alex?"

"You finished that homework they gave us?"

"Homework? You mean the report about the new Museum?"

"Yeah. So you've finished it?"

"Yeah, finished it three days ago" Kei answered. True he finished the report, he was someone who didn't do things at the last second and preferred to finish things early than wait for the deadline.

"Damn it man! We all agreed to go to the museum together!" Alex shouted

"Heh. Too bad for you guys, I was rather busy during the vacation and I had thought that I might not have any time to do the report, so I did after my break"

"Damn, well how about you accompany us since you owe us for not agreeing with the meeting" Alex smirked

Kei gave a defeated sign and went down the branch, "Sure man, nothing else better to do anyway"

Showing a triumphant smile, Alex led his friend towards the museum. As they were walking, Kei noticed some other students who were heading towards the museum, hinting more than some student enjoyed their vacation much.

He could see that there were still few male students at Academy, the school was once a school for girls only until the recently turning it into a co-ed school. Like the other classrooms, there were only small males on each room and even Kei and Alexander were the only ones at their class.

It didn't take long for the two to arrive at the museum. As they neared the entrance, Alex was frantically looking at the area like he was searching for something or someone.

"Looking's for something Alex?"

"Yeah, I can't find the others"

"Maybe they already entered the museum"

"Yeah but damn those guy for not waiting a little bit"

"Just leave them and let's go man" Kei said as he entered the museum

"Wait for me!" Alex then followed his friend

* * *

Inside the museum, the place was filled with many artifacts ranging from armors and weaponry. While Alex was looking at the artifacts and writing, Kei meanwhile rubbed his chin as he looked at the weaponries.

"This spear looks similar to the Sky Piercer of Lu Bu" he said gazing at the strange designed spear

"How the hell do you know what Lu Bu's weapon look like?" Alex said glancing at him from his book

"You already know that my old man is a blacksmith and has incredible records of any historic weapons"

"I thought he was a simple Dojo Instructor? His moves for an old man was fucking amazing man"

"You mean the Hikoraijin Style?"

"Yeah, I mean, you move so fast and heck the name of it sounds cool! If you joined he Kendo Club, you could have won!"

"You know that the Hikoraijin Style is different from Kendo?" Kei questioned

"Sure but you can use your speed for advantage"

Kei rubbed his forehead, his friend wasn't going to let this down. He knew that Alex would continue to pester him about joining the Kendo Club, the club was full of girls that only consisted of a single boy named Kazuto Hongo.

"Just leave it at that Alex, you better finish that report of yours" Kei smirked causing Alex to continue writing his report.

As Alex continued his report, Kei meanwhile continued to gaze at the weapons with such calculative eyes. Something that amazed him was that he inherited his grand-father's skill in analyzing a weapon. Just as he continued to stroll the set of weapons, he bumped into someone.

"Sorry for that" he apologized

"Hmph…" Kei looked at the person he bumped into and saw a brown haired teenager wearing the school uniform. Rubbing the small dirt from his clothes, the blonde student left.

Kei meanwhile stood silent as his mind was rushing his head with information he gathered from the blonde student. He saw that the teenager had the aura of being mysterious, a trained body that left no openings and a calculative eyes.

Those were not the eyes something that a normal student had, looking at the guy once more, he saw him gazing at a certain item, a strange mirror.

"Kei, come on, I'm finished with my report" Alex called

Turning his gaze at the student quick, Kei left the museum and headed towards Alex.

* * *

After exiting the museum, it was already night and Alex had already entered his room. Kei meanwhile was sitting on his usual relaxing spot as he continued to gaze at the museum.

While his eyes focused on the structure, his mind meanwhile was concentrating on the strange brown haired student. He carried a mysterious aura, something that intrigued Kei. As a martial artist, Kei was taught to read the body language and from what he read from the mysterious guy was complete defensive. His body was positioned in such a protective manner that he couldn't see any opening.

"Stop!"

Exiting from his thoughts, Kei stood up as he tried to find where he heard the shout. Then just a few miles away, he could see two figures and from their movements, he could see that they were fighting. Jumping down from the branch, Kei began to run towards them with extreme speed.

Reaching the two fighters, Kei hid near a tree as he studied them. He saw that the first guy was the same brown haired guy a while back, the other one meanwhile was something he knew, the other guy was Kazuto Hongo, a member of the Kendo Club and his swordsmanship rival.

Just then, he felt a very familiar aura. Turning to the other guy, he felt a pretty strong killing intent. As a swordsman, he was always thrown into the faces of danger and had encountered other killing intents. This one meanwhile was what he would call as normal, true killing intent was something that only a master could release.

"Die!" Slamming his foot into the ground, the student then unleashed lethal kicks towards Kazuto.

"Don't you underestimate me!" grabbing his bokken firmly, Kazuto performed a fast downward slash.

Kei saw that the bokken was going to strike faster but then saw something…

_BAM!_

The student had delivered a much fast kick to Kazuto's blind spot and delivered such a terrible blow. Kazuto winced in pain at the attack and kneeled on the ground and then Kei intervened.

Rocketing himself towards the student, Kei performed a fast jab to the guy's chest. Not noticing the intervention of another person, the brown haired student felt the entire strike of his jab.

Grasping his stricken chest, he quickly backed away and glared at Kei.

"Who are you?!"

"Just a passing student" Kei said as he took his personal fighting style position. With his legs stretched, Kei placed both his hands on the pockets of his jacket. This fighting style was created by him to fit the Hikoraijin Style, both of it had similar concepts of attacking.

Using his hand as the blade and the jacket's pocket as the scabbard, he strikes similar to Iaido but rather than using a sword, it was his arms. It was a strange martial arts but his grand-father congratulated him for thinking outside of the box.

"Another Witness! I have no choice but to kill you too!" He sent out another straight kick towards his stomach

Kei quickly sidestepped and performed a fast Iai-like strike to his feet. The force of his strike caused the male student to groan in pain but then delivered a second kick.

Kei raised his leg to his stomach blocking the kick. He then followed it with another strike to the second leg and a fast frontal blow the student's stomach.

_BAM!_

The male student was pushed away and grinding his teeth in pain as he supported his body with his already in pain feet. He was breathing heavily and continued to glare at him.

"That was cool"

Kei looked behind him and saw Kazuto who was sitting on the ground as he was holding his stomach.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, still in pain but fine"

"So what's this all about?"

"That guy stole a mirror from the Museum" Kazuto pointed at the male student

As the two were distracted, the male student ran towards Kei and send a flying kick towards his head. Feeling the sense of murder, Kei ducked from the kick and then…

_BAM!  
BAM!  
BAM!_

The male student was blown back from three straight punches towards his stomach and landed a few feet away. Giving a nod to Kazuto, Kei ran towards the male student and preparing to restrain him.

* * *

As he neared the male student, he saw a small shimmering object on the ground. Looking at it more, Kei saw that the mirror had been cracked.

"NO!" the male student frantically said as he tried to grab the pieces, "HOW DARE YOU!"

"I don't fully understand the situation but you're going down!" Kei slammed his fist on the guy's chest and held him by the neck while slowly tightening his grip

"Y-you…don't know…anything!"

"Doesn't matter…"

Just as the male student continued to get away from his grip, the mirror suddenly began to shine and the two stopped as they simply stared at the light.

!

!

Then everything turned white, Kei simply closed his eyes the light blinded them.

* * *

Then Kei found himself staring at nothing but white. He rubbed his eyes to ensure that he wasn't mistaking anything but it was useless, he still saw white.

"It's no use" the male student decaled

"What do you mean?" he asked

"…you cannot go back. The curtain has been drawn"

"What?!"

"Be swallowed up by the light. That is the punishment that has befallen you"

"I don't understand!"

"It doesn't matter. You will soon gaze the truth of this world with your very own eyes!"

* * *

Kei could feel as his conscious was falling. Though his mind was preparing to fall, he forced his thoughts about what the male student had said. Failing to stop from falling into darkness, Kei could only sigh and relaxed his body waiting what would happen.

Feeling his consciousness awakening, Kei slowly opened his eyes and was faced gazing the blue morning sky. Thinking that he had passed out during the fight, Kei then looked at his surrounding and found himself at a wasteland with some rocky mountains far away

"How in the world did I get here?!"

He gazed from left to right only to find similar scenery, an open prairie with mountains. There wasn't a single full green area making him sure that this was nowhere in Francessca Academy.

"What the hell happened?"

Kei calmed his nerves as knowing that panicking would not help him. His mind raced back to what happened last night, he had fought a male student who was stealing a mirror and during him restraining the student, a bright light blinded them and everything went blank.

"This could not be a dream or illusion, I am fully awake. I better look for anyone who I could ask questions" and with that, Kei walked the mysterious land in hopes of searching civilization.

As he continuously walked the wasteland, Kei sat near a boulder as he tried to regain his breath. The place was large and he could not even find a source of water. Forcing his body to endure more a little more time, Kei prepared to stand up only for him to be cornered by three individuals.

"Those are nice clothes you got pal" the center individual said. Kei looked at them and made a quick study. He knew they weren't nice people just by the voice of the center one. All three of them wore similar outfits though each was different.

The one on the right was tall and fat, the center one was average while the one of the left was a small one.

"So what?" Kei said with a threatening voice

"Don't you dare act tough pal or we're going to kill you" the center one said

"Yeah what us to cut your head off!" the small midget said as he grabbed his sword and placed it near Kei's neck

Feeling the real blade on his neck, Kei had began to plan his counter attack.

"Ok, if you want my clothes I'll just remove it and run" Kei simply said

"What? What are you plotting pal?" the man said as he never expected what Kei said

"Fine! Hurry up then!"

Turning his back from then, Kei made his move. Quickly placing his hands on his pockets, Kei sound around and…

_BAM!_

His fist went straight to the man face quickly slamming him towards the ground. Seeing as the fat one and the small one take out their weapons, he grabbed the fallen man's sword and went towards the fat thug.

The man was shaking as Kei was moving towards him with such speed that he could barely follow. Appearing just before Fatso, Kei slammed the flat face of the blade at his two legs making him fall.

"Darn Punk!" the midget ran towards him preparing his sword, Kei didn't turn around as he waited for the man to get nearer. Just as he was about the strike a voice called

"Hold it!"

Looking at where the voice came from, Kei and the Midget saw a single woman with a fierce and majestic gaze.

"Who the hell are you?!" Aniki said as he stood up rubbing his red face

"Don't bother us!"

"Hmph! Might as well get her instead of the guy. I din't know who you are, but we'll gladly tie you up, rape you and sell you as a slave"

"Sound fun" Midget agreed

"Fatso! Midget! Handle the guy first as I take care of this woman" Aniki said

"Yeah!" the two men cheered

"Stand down, Boors!"

"Heh!"

"How dare thou ruffians threaten to lay thine hands on this noble?! Know thine place, foul bandits!"

"WHAT?!"

"If thou wilt flee now, I shall allow thee to escape. However, if thou dainst to fight, thouh shalt face my Greed Dragon Crescent Blade!" she declared as she unsheathed a weapon Kei was familiar with

"Stubborn Woman!" he unsheathed his blade and approached her

"Ho? A fight it is then? Very well! Take this!"

Preparing her footing, she launched herself towards Aniki and performed a fast and swift slash that struck the man's stomach. The men felt the full force of the spear and landed on the ground falling unconscious.

Kei meanwhile launched himself towards Midget and performed an uppercut causing the thug to land on top of Aniki.

Fatso meanwhile stood in fear at the two individuals who glared at him

"Run!" Kei ordered

Fatso nodded and grab his two friends and escaped. Seeing at the retreating enemy, Kei fell down on his butt as he began to regain his breath. He had fought on an empty stomach and was already tired from him walking a while back.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" the woman said as he approached Kei

"I'm fine"

"Good, I'm glad to hear it" she said showing a warm smile

"May I ask the young maiden her name?"

"Pardon me. I haven't introduced myself yet. My family name is Kan, my first name is U and my common name is Unchou. I have traveled from Yuushuu to welcome you"

Kei then widened his eyes

"Um, is there something wrong?"

"Judging from your introduction, your name is Kan'U and your common name is Unchuo am I correct?"

The black haired girl simply nodded

Kei lowered his head as he began to think about the situation. Her name Kan'U was very similar to that general who served under Liu Bei, Guan Yu. Looking at her weapon, Kei was sure that this girl held the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, _that_ blade! Kei only needed one thing to ensure if his theory is correct…

"Kan'u may I ask where are we?"

"We are in the Zhou District of Youzhou, as you can tell by the mountain ridge alongside Mount Wutai in the distance. A village les a little further west from here…why do you ask?"

And that broke it all. Kan'U! The Green Dragon Crescent Blade! Zhou District! And finally Mount Wutai! He knew it! This wasn't a prank or something, this was real. He head really traveled back in time during the year where the Romance of the Three Kingdoms occurred. How was it possible? How could this be truly possible?!

"If I may ask, might you grace me with your name?"

"How rude of me for not introducing myself after hearing yours. I am Kei Tokiwa, I thank you for the assists during the fight"

"No, there is no need to thanks me. From what I had seen, it wasn't any different if I hadn't intervened but it is due to my duty to protect you that I did it, Messenger from Heaven"

"Messenger from heaven?"

"Yes? The other day an oracle known as Kanro foretold that a Messenger from Heaven would descend to put an end to the Wars. This is the exact place of which the oracle spoke and here I have met you…Who else could be the Messenger from Heaven but you"

She gave a small chuckle and then pointed at Kei's uniform, "Furthermore, your very clothes shine with the light of Heaven. That alone clearly signifies that you are a Messenger from Heaven. Am I mistaken?"

"Well…" Kei prepared to explain why but he knew that it would become useless seeing that the material of his uniform would be an alien to them

"Anejaaaa!"

"Oh Rinrin, you finally caught up" the woman said

Kei looked at the side and saw a small girl with shoulder length red hair and violet eyes. Kei noticed that she wore some tight black small clothes.

"That was mean! How dare you leave Rinrin behind!"

"What are you talking about? Is it not your fault for playing with that puppy?" Kan'U deadpanned

"Urrgh, I guess your right" Rinrin chuckled, "By the way, who's this guy?"

"Hey, do noe be rude" Kan'U blushed in embarrassment, "This man is the Messenger from Heaven we've been seeking"

"Wow! Onii-chan, you're a Messenger from Heaven?"

Kei was a little shocked the girl's sudden formal title for him.

"Not really…" Kei whispered a little

"Okay, then I better introduce myself! Rinrin's family name is Chou! My first name is Hi! My common name is Yokutoku! And my true name is Rinrin!"

"_So this girl is Zhang Fei_" he thought a little shocked. How come the records told that they were male, was there some changes of the story during the past.

"I have no choice but to accept this…" Kei said without thinking

"Oh! So you will accept it?!"

"Thanks, Onii-chan!"

"What?" Kei asked confused

"You will become our leader and fight to bring order to this world enveloped in war!"

"To fight huh?"

"That's right, Onii-chan! You're going to be our master and help us save the weak!"

"That's right! Master! Let us ride against these wars and fight for the sake of the people"

Kan'U's words struck Kei, those words reminded him of something his grand-father once told him,

"_Fighting for those who could not protect themselves is true Code of the Sword_"

Nodding his head a little, Kei smiled at the two, "Very well, let us go then Kan'U, Rinrin"

The two female warriors nodded as the followed the man they saw as the Messenger of Heaven.


	2. Chapter 2

"Wrath of Light"

Kei, Kan'U and Rinrin headed towards the village. Though Rinrin had headed towards the village before him and Kan'U, the two had simply walked instead of rushing over since Kei was still tired from the fight earlier.

Also, during their walk, Kan'U had asked him if he was ok if she called him Lord. Of course Kei had to ask why, Kan'U explained for her and Rinrin's quest to find him for the wars to stop. Kan'U had also asked him to call her by her real name instead, Aisha.

"What happened here?" Kei asked as he and Aisha arrived at the destroyed village. It was on fire and it made the two stop in their tracks as they gazed at the burning land.

"I don't know, but we have to find Rinrin!" Aisha said

Nodding to her, Kei and Aisha began to walk the desolate village but it didn't take long for them to search for Rinrin.

"Hey you two!" Rinrin greeted appearing from an alleyway

"Rinrin! What happened here? Are you ok?" Aisha frantically asked

Rinrin simply nodded, "I'm ok, the village was already like this when I arrived"

"Atleast you were not hurt in any form Rinrin"

"Thank you onii-chan"

"Where are the villagers?"

"They hid in a tavern, follow me"

And with that, Rinrin led the two to where the villagers had hidden. As they walked, Kei made simple glance to every house or restaurant they had passed making sure that there was no one that had dared attack them.

Within the tavern, Kei and Aisha saw the remaining villagers. They were covered in wounds and soot from the bunt homes and sat two helplessly. No matter how much Kei was controlled by his emotions, he felt pity for them, the ancient times were indeed a very troubling and dangerous era.

"This is…awful…"

"Is everyone okay?" Rinrin asked them

An elderly villager stood up and gazed at the group, "Who are you?"

Standing straight with eyes filled with determination, Aisha spoke, "We have come to fight against the suffering brought to you by the Yellow Turbans, we have come to eliminate them"

"The Imperial Guard has come to save us?!" a male villager asked surprised

His statement made Aisha looked down a little, "I'm sorry, unfortunately, we are not from the Imperial Guard"

"Damn…"

Hearing this, the villagers went back into their disappointment state. The knowledge that the Imperial Guards had not come only made them even sadder. Kei saw that they were in the brink of giving up.

"But we have come here to save you!" Rinrin enthusiastically said trying to brighten the villagers

"What can kids like you do?" the same male villager questioned, "Us adults were unable to stand agains them"

"They were just too many of them" the elderly man added

"How many where there?"

"There must have been at least four thousands of them. How can a tiny village like this fight against such a large horde?"

"But you all fought, right?"

"Of course we did! There were just too many of them for us to handle…"

"They destroyed whatever they wanted and said that they'd be back…"

"What are we going to do? If they come back, they'll take all our food! They'll even take my wife and daughter"

Their sadness made Kei's heart painful, he had never witnessed such sadness. Living in modern times sure was different from living in this time, there were little trouble in the modern ages and if things like this had happened, the government would quickly make a move.

Gazing at Aisha, Kei clearly saw that she was thinking. Her eyes still had determination in them and he could see that those fires began to burn more intense. Nodding to herself, Aisha turned to the villagers.

"I have an idea"

"What is it? Is there a way for us to be saved?"

"Yes…"

"How?"

"We will fight them" Aisha said once more

"Didn't you listen?! How are we supposed to fight against them?! How can we defeat guys like them?!"

"We can" Aisha said

"Yep, we can!" Rinrin added

"How can you be sure?"

"Heaven is on our side" she proclaimed

"Uh-huh! See, Onii-chan is a great and powerful Messenger from Heaven who's on our side!"

"What do you mean by a Messenger of Heaven? Are you saying god is going to save us?"

Aisha had then told them about the rumors of the Messenger of Heaven from the capital. Though it was rumors, due to little transportation and communication, rumors especially in a capital can easily be true.

After much explanation, Aisha walked towards me and pushed me near the villagers

"Here he is" she said proudly, "This is the messenger who has been sent from heaven to end these wars. So long as he is on our side, we shall not lose to bandits such as the Yellow Turbans"

"This guy?" a village male asked in disbelief

"Greetings to you all" Kei said

"I don't believe it! This lanky guy is the Messenger from Heaven? He's going to quell the wars? Hah! That's obviously a lie!"

"How can you say that? Is it not apparent from the way he looks? In our world, is there any attire that shines in the light?"

"I've never seen clothes that sparkle like that" a village female approached Kei and touched his clothes, "the material is something that I have never seen!"

"See? Also he is intelligent enough to memorize Sun Tzu's Art of War, Jian Ziya's Six Secret Teachings and even the Three Strategies of Huang Shigong"

Kei flinched a little on how much information Aisha was giving out, he wasn't really sure if telling her about his intelligence was a great idea but it seemed that it was helping the villagers gain courage so he had to let it pass.

"Amazing…"

"Not only that, he skillfully drove away the Yellow Turbans with just using his hands and moved with such speed"

"Seriously? With just his hands?!"

"Furthermore, I saw it myself. I witnessed the moment he descended from Heaven"

"Wow…"

"Maybe…we will be saved!"

"Yes!"

"You will! So, everyone let us rise up now! We shall protect this village with our hands!" Aisha told them making all the villagers cheer.

With new confidence, the villagers began to prepare anything: food, some weapons and clothes. As the villagers had left, Kei simply looked at Aisha who seemed to have her head down. Kei could only guess that it maybe because of how much she bolstered his knowledge.

"I'm impressed, Aneja!" Rinrin said with a toothy grin

"No I was wrong, I am sorry my Lord for telling them about you knowledge even though I promised you to not say a single thing about you"

Kei could tell that the girl was truly sorry, he knew that Aisha was in the mood to say those words to encourage the villagers.

"It's alright Aisha, you did it to encourage the villagers so it's fine" he reassured her

"I know but…"

"Do not worry Aisha, we cannot change what has been said so now we have to devise a plan to protect this village"

"He is right! You won't be able to fight properly and the villagers would simply continue to become depress"

"Yeah…I guess…" she exhales, forcing her body to relax

"Alright since that is settled, we shall split into two groups. Me and Aisha shall go and request aid from the villagers, since your fast Rinrin, take some swift people and scout the location of the Yellow Turbans"

"Roger!"

"Be careful Rinrin" Aisha said

"I Will! Aneja!" She smiled and nodded as she dashed towards the center of the village

As she left, Kei turned to Aisha, "Are you ready, Aisha?"

"Yeas, my Lord"

Nodding at her, Kei and Aisha went out of the tavern and found themselves looking at several men lined up and armed with weapons.

As the two were looking at the people, a young man spoke, "That's the Messenger from Heaven?"

"He must be. Look at those heavenly clothes he's wearing"

"Wow…"

Kei could feel the gaze of the villagers towards him. It was really strange that his simple school uniform made him look like a being of heaven to them, but considering that he was hundred years in the past, such thing was understandable.

Standing in front of the villagers, Kei stood tall as he began to show an aura of a true leader. It wasn't hard for him to act like this, being the president of the Student Council, Kei had to know how to act like a leader and help students.

Looking at the villagers, Kei could clearly see that his appearance gave hop to them that him simply standing there with such posture continued to grant them courage

"Onii-chan!"

Breaking from his thoughts, Kei looked at his side and saw Rinrin and a few villagers approaching then

"What is it Rinrin?"

"We found the Yellow Turbans! They've pitched camp in the prairie about one li west of the village!"

"How many of them are there?" Aisha asked

"Just as the villagers said, about 4,000 I think? But they're all carrying shoddy weapons"

"I see…" Turning towards the villagers, Aisha spoke, "…People of this Village! It is as you heard! The enemy may be a vast in number, but they are merely a mob! With Heaven on our side, they are no match for us! Now is the time to muster our courage and bring peace back to this village with our own hands!"

Kei could clearly see that the villagers were becoming courageous from her words, true that strength and knowledge can give you the advantage of battle but nothing more encourage the men of war but the great and supporting words of their leader.

"…now, My Lord, give us a few words before we depart?"

"Me?"

"Yes. My Lord, if you could give us a few words, I'm sure it would raise our morale"

Nodding to her, Kei turned to the villagers, "I know that some of you haven't seen the terrors of battles, but now do not be faint-hearted or afraid, do not be terrified or give way to panic before them.

This is a battle not for power, but a battle for your friends and family. I, the Messenger of Heaven, shall ensure you that we shall be victorious and that the darkness of this land shall be purified by the Light of Heaven."

With those words said, Kei looked at the Villagers and in an instant, all of them erupted in a powerful cheer. Such incredible joy all coming at once made Kei smirk.

"That was a great speech My Lord" Aisha said

Kei simply smiled, those words actually just came out of his mouth without a second thought. Though he was good at speeches, it took some time before he could clearly make a good speech. And this one was just a sudden speech he had to quickly make.

"Anyhow Let us go" Kei ordered as he, Aisha, Rinrin and the villagers began to leave the village

"Yes, once Rinrin leads us to our target, we fight"

"Rinrin's spear emits fire!"

"And my Green Dragon Blade will purge evil. My Lord, please enjoy watching us fight from the rear lines"

"No"

Both Aisha and Rinrin looked at him puzzled, "You won't?"

"I won't. You people are going to fight, I will not simply stand by and watch as the battle unfold. I will fight too" Kei looked at the girls with fierce determination

"But, My Lord, this is far too dangerous"

"True but I will not simply stay still like a cowards, besides you have already seen how I fight Aisha. I cannot let this people go to battle on their own, I will lead them in the front as what a true leader shall do"

"That's…Magnificent" Aisha smiled looking at Kei

"Hm?"

"I knew I made the right choice in accepting you as my lord, hearing you say those words proves you are the Messenger from Heaven I imagined you would be"

"Who cares about that? Right now, it's more important for the three of us to take down those Yellow Turbans who made these villagers suffer!" Rinrin laughed, "Come on, Onii-chan, Aisha. Let's go!"

"You are right, People of the village! Now we march to battle!" Aisha declared

"YEAH!"

As they began to walk, Kei gazed at the distance and smiled, "Here I go"

* * *

As they left the village, Rinrin had begun to lead the way towards the hill where the host of the Yellow Turbans had set camp. As they were nearing the camp, Aisha had continued to encourage the villagers. Having some spare time to think, Kei began to recall about what he read in this part.

From what he knows, the Yellow Turbans originally began as an armed uprising of civilians who could no longer stand the oppressive rule of the later Han Dyntasy, which was triggered by the spread of a new religion.

Imperial Guards were dispatched to suppress the rebellion, but years of peace made them weak to stop the rampage. With each Imperial Guard defeated, the civilians grew more exalted and such the ranks of the Yellow Turbans exploded. But all of the settles down once the leader of the religion which incited them passed away

"Onii-chan there they are!" Rinrin shouted

Broken from his thoughts, Kei turned to the enemy soldiers. He knew that some of the villagers were becoming a little frightful as they had finally come into contact with the enemy. As Aisha gave some orders to the villagers, Kei began to crack his fingers and gazed fiercely at the enemy.

"Time for war!"

And thus the battle against the Yellow Turbans had begun.

* * *

As Aisha and Rinrin had led the villagers, Kei launched himself alone against an incoming enemy. Some might say on how someone who lived in a time of peace could stomach war but Kei was someone who wasn't raised normally.

Having a grandfather who had experience war train him similar to that of a soldier, Kei was taught that in war, many people die and that is something no once change. Besides, people of wars were people who would die for the sake of their ambition.

Kei shook his head as he exited his mind, he was in a war and he needed to concentrate. Nearing one of the soldiers, Kei grabbed the man's head before smashing it towards his incoming knee uppercut with all his strength.

"Damn You!" another man shouted as he ran towards Kei with his sword raised. Grabbing the fallen man's sword, Kei rushed towards the other man with incredible speed and plunged the sword on the man's stomach.

"W-What Spe-ed…" Kei wasn't finished as he twisted the blade into a horizontal position and slashed the man as the blade erupted from the man's side.

Looking behind him, three more soldiers ran towards him, Kei grabbed the other sword with his other hand and ran towards the three. Nearing them, Kei increased his speed and raised the sword and positioned them in a reverse formation.

With him now in a striking position, Kei plunged the two swords at the two soldiers' head before running towards the other soldier where he slammed his fist to man's gut.

The soldier felt the incredible force of the punch and dropped his sword as he placed his hand and his inure body, "What the hell are you?!"

Kei didn't answer as he grabbed the man's fallen sword and plunged it into the man's head, killing him instantly.

Turning towards the villagers, Kei saw their fierce battle against the other soldiers with Aisha and Rinrin leading them. Though they were only a two thousand, they were easily decimating the enemy's numbers thanks to their untrained soldiers.

Changing his gaze from the villagers towards the enemies just a mile away from him, he grabbed another fallen sword and ran towards them without any hesitation.

* * *

As time passed, the Yellow Turban's number began to decrease from four thousand to a two thousand, from two thousand to a thousand and from a thousand into a hundred.

With the decreasing numbers, some soldiers of the Yellow turban's began to retreat causing the villagers to cheer for their nearing victory.

"Now is the time! Begin the pursuit! I'm sure you're all tired, but we're almost there! Follow me!" Aisha raised her weapon high, causing the villagers to cheer and charge once more

Following her words, the villagers raised their battle cry and followed her, overwhelming the Yellow Turbans and reaping their lives like wheat before the scythe.

Kei simply continued his own extermination at some of the Yellow Turbans who were foolish to stay in the battlefield where they were completely losing.

After exterminating the Yellow Turbans, all of them returned back to the village in triumph. The villagers who stayed behind all welcomed them back with a smile. Though most of them were smiling, other villagers had shed tears of sorrow from knowing the sad fate of their loved ones.

"Where is Onii-chan?" Rinrin asked Aisha

"That's Right?! Where is our Lord?!" she asked in panicked

"I'm here Aisha, Rinrin" a voice replied

Turning around, Aisha and Rinrin saw an incoming Kei. Though they were happy that there lord was alright, they were a bit startled by the amount of blood he was covered in.

"My Lord, are you alright?" Aisha asked worriedly

"I am fine Aisha" Kei said even though he was tired and had some injuries. Though he was fast and strong, Kei was no god and was a simple man.

"But the blood…"

"Do not worry, it is not my blood" Aisha was sighed in relief but she was still disturbed by such amount of blood over him, she could only think about the horrors her lord had done to his enemies

"How are the villagers?" Kei said as he sat down

"Most of the villagers are safe but some still have fallen in battle" Aisha said with some sadness in her voice

"Do now be sad Aisha, those people sacrificed themselves for their village. All of us should honor them and continue this battle for their sake"

"Yes, My Lord" Aisha smiled raising her head as she headed towards the villagers

Kei began to regain his breath after such an intense battle, increasing his speed didn't much take a tall for him normally but this time he was wielding different kinds of weapons and he had to adjust his strength for him to hold such weapons.

Changing his strength from using different weapons took a large price for his strength. He now needed to relax his arms and legs to ensure not to strain them too much.

As he was about to close his eyes, he noticed a trouble looking Aisha leading a group of villagers towards him

"What's everyone doing together?" Rinrin asked as she appeared near Kei

"We've decided" a villager declared

"Decided on what?" Kei asked

"We want you to be our chief magistrate!"

"A chief magistrate?" he asked seeing that he was familiar with such a word, "Isn't that a governor?"

"You are right" Aisha replied, "Normally, the Imperial Court appoints someone to that position in order to collect taxes and maintain an army to control uprisings…"

"Our magistrate ran away in the chaos caused by the Yellow Turban's raid. He abandoned us"

Rinrin pouted in anger, "How dare he! That's horrible!"

"Right? That's why we won't trust the Imperial Court anymore. We're going to protect this village in our own hands!"

"But we don't think we can govern a city on our own…" villager said

"So we want the Messenger from Heaven to govern our city" another villager added

"Me?" Kei was truly surprised

"Yeah! We'll follow you until the end!"

"Yeah! We all will!"

Kei simply stood shock at there announcement, sure he was ok for being the Messenger of Heaven and as a leader of the army but being a governor was a very high position and Kei wasn't sure if he can handle such a thing.

Though had similarities to being a student council president, there were still many differences that Kei couldn't begin to imagine. Peeking at Aisha and Rinrin, Kei saw that both of them gave him a nod showing that he should agree.

"Are you sure you want me to be your magistrate?"

"Yes! It must be you, Lady Kan'U and Lady Chouhi!"

"That's right! You fought with us and that's why we want you to govern this city!"

"All right, I'll accept the position of chief magistrate"

With me announcing my final decision, the villagers erupted in cheers

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Yeah! Let's work hard to rebuild this town!"

"That's right! This will be a safe city where everyone can live peacefully! Let's turn it into a grand city!"

As their joy filled voices flowed the city bringing forth great happiness around the village. Rays of light began to fall towards the village as if signifying a new beginning of this.

Kei could only smile at the happy people and it was this day that he would ensure that the Light of Heaven will land on the other places ravaged by the shadows of darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

"Heart of the Warrior"

Days had passed since their victory against the Yellow Turbans and the villagers had begun to repair the new village ruled by their new Magistrate. Kei Tokiwa, now sat on a chair on his new room as he had finished the state affairs and other woks he had to do.

Standing up, Kei walked to the near window and gazed below. Outside he could see the villagers working, men were carrying some materials and fixing houses while women were preparing the food.

Though the people wanted him to relax while they work, Kei didn't like to simply stand by as others work. There was just something wrong with that thought.

Removing his school jacket, Kei now stood with a tight black sleeveless shirt, his school pants and shoes. The new day was hot and he was already tired from the countless paperwork he had to review which was strangely unharmed during the attack days ago.

Massaging his right shoulder, Kei left his room and began to look for Aisha to help in the patrol. As he walked through the halls, Kei was amazed at the amazing structure of the building. From the inside to the outside, the house showed promising incredible designing creation.

As he stood in front of the door, Kei opened the door without paying attention, "Aisha, I was wondering if I could-!"

Kei stopped his sentence as he gaze inside the room. Just a few feet from him was Aisha turned around with her back facing him and was only wearing her white panties which was being pulled up showing that she had just put them on.

No matter how relax or calm Kei was, he was still a male teenager with hormones. Even if he was gazing at Aisha's back, it still showed her incredible figure especially her buttocks which were simply covered by white underwear.

Destroying his hormonal thoughts, Kei said, "I'll talk to you after your finish changing"

And with that Kei closed the door and turned his back against the door. As he tried to think, pictures of Aisha's body began to flash on his mind causing his face to turn red. He then forcefully pushed aside such thoughts and waited for Aisha.

* * *

Five minutes later, he and a now fully clothed Aisha began to roam the halls.

"Thank you for waiting. I apologize for making you see such an unsightly scene"

"Don't be, it was my fault. I was distracted by the design of the building and had forgotten to knock on your door"

"Hm? Why are you apologizing to me, My Lord?"

Kei looked at Aisha with a puzzled look, that was an unusual response. In this situation, it was either that Aisha would ignore him or if she would simply accept his apology. Her response was different and only filled with curiousness and surprised.

"By the way, I seem to recall you wanting to tell me something"

"That's right! I was wondering if I could join you in patrolling around the region"

"You don't have to ask my Lord" she said with a smile

And so the duo went on their patrol.

* * *

As they were walking at a very similar place, Kei began to think about the time he and Aisha were alone. The last time that happened was before they headed towards the village.

"It has been a while since we talk alone Aisha"

"You're right. Time had passed so quickly since I met you, My Lord" Aisha nodded

"That it has. Though I have known you for days, I don't fully know about you"

"About me?" she asked surprised

"Yes, tell me Aisha. Why do you fight?"

"To protect the innocent and the weak from the violence of war"

"I see. How did you meet Rinrin?"

"Rinrin and I have been together for a long time. My family and hers have maintained relations for generations and we were brought up as sisters"

"Interesting, I bet Rinrin used to wear you out even as a child?"

Aisha giggled a little which Kei found cute, "Yes she did. She was just as rambunctious then as she is now"

"Aisha, with such great violence roaming this continent, are we going to be able to stop this?" Kei asked

"We are going to stop it. Let us bring peace to this world…together" she said showing her determined face

"Together…" he murmured

"Yes, My Lord. Until we have achieved our ambition, Rinrin and I shall be your shield and spear"

But against a large continent, Kei wasn't sure. He had confidence in his abilities, but that was in a peaceful time and now that he is plunged into such a dangerous war, Kei wasn't sure if he could control himself.

"Thank you Aisha"

Aisha gave him a gentle smile and nodded. With their discussion finished, the two continued to patrol the area.

* * *

After having some time with Aisha patrolling, Kei had ventured of towards the wall of the village and now stood on top of the wall as he gazed at the lands. As he was simply strolling, Kei saw a familiar figure just a few miles from him.

Narrowing his eyes, Kei could clearly see that the figure was Rinrin with her spear pointing at the sky. Seeing that he had no other things to do, he decided to talk the young warrior.

Approaching the young girl, Kei spoke, "Hey Rinrin"

"Mmnyah?" Rinrin gave a weird response

Kei found her response amusing, like he had just startled a small cat.

"Onii-chan. What are you doing? Rinrin didn't call for you?"

Kei also found her third person talking very cute, maybe it was because of her still being a child despite having the reputation as a fierce warrior. Even child in his times still do this habit.

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?"

"Hmm, did Rinrin do something wrong?" she asked tilting her head

Kei grinned a little at how she questioned him. It was both cute and interesting.

Noticing his smile, Rinrin puffed her cheeks as she tried to glare at him which only made her look cuter

"Boo, why are you grinning?! How dare you sneak behind Rinrin and have fun all by yourself!"

"Sneaking? I did nothing of such sort. I'm simply smiling at you"

She placed her hands over her head and was still puffing her cheeks

"Rinrin's not doing anything fun, though. Rinrin's doing her job as a watchman!"

"I see, seeing that the Yellow Turbans may try to attack us for revenge"

"That's right! That's what Rinrin's here for. I stand here proudly and say this!" she then stood on the edge of the rampant and thrust her Viper Spear into the sky and swung it around, "Here stands Chouhi, warrior of Yan! Those who wish to become mist upon my spear, come at me!"

Kei clapped at her while wearing a doubtful smile on his face

"Hee, Hee, what do you think? The Yellow Turbans will be shaken up. Don't you think I look cool?"

"You looked cool but if you continue to do that, all the civilians will scramble away"

"Hmnyah?"

Looking down next to her, Kei could clearly see the people scattering away from below.

"Anyway, you need to be careful of simply standing near the edges"

"Boo, Onii-chan you're no fun" she pouted once more

Kei rubbed his head. Chouhi Yokutoku, in what he read, was a general with the strength of a thousand warriors. Looking at the real Chouhi right now, it was simply ridiculous.

"She's just a child…" he muttered though it seemed that Rinrin heard it

"Was that about Rinrin?! How Rude!"

"Not trying to be rude but you only reach up to my chest"

"Rinrin may be small, but she's strong!"

Seeing that he wasn't going to win by words, Kei grabbed Rinrin by the waist and raised her as she was now being carried over his shoulders.

"I won't lose to any grown up either! Ah, no, I mean, Rinrin's a grownup too!"

Kei could only let out a chuckle as she fixed her mistake. No matter how she grows, Rinrin will continue to act like a child but that didn't bother Kei, having such a very cheerful person in the group removed the tension in any situation.

"No matter what, just don't push your body too hard, ok?"

"Pushing too hard?"

"I know that you are strong but everyone has its limits, you are no god but a simple human. Besides if you push too hard, you won't be able to help those in need in battle"

"But Rinrin wants to become strong. Strong people like me and Aisha have to help weak people"

"I know but how can you help the weak if you can't move your body properly from the constant training"

Though Rinrin understood it a little, it simply told her not to overpass her limits too much. If she would, it would break the body she had been constantly training over the years.

"Just promise me that ok Rinrin"

"Rinrin promises" she smiled

"You are an amazing and very strong person Rinrin" Kei said as he rubbed her head. From their simple talk, Kei saw that Rinrin carried a very strong heart. Her determination to protect the weak blocks any fear on her heart allowing her to fight with great strength. And yet, she can maintain her innocent side.

That was something that made Kei knew that the girl in front of him was someone who had many potentials.

"Okay, see you later. Rinrin's going back to being a watchman!" Waving at him, Rinrin returned to her post and continued her watch.

Seeing her work, Kei turned around and headed back to his room.

* * *

As days passed, Kei had continued his job as a magistrate of the land and had made a great relationship with the people. In a land where there was no single technology, people here had worked hard for the food and things they had.

With that in mind, Kei had begun to take his job as a magistrate more serious and had begun to learn more about the Yellow Turbans.

From what he had gathered, the Yellow Turbans had later reorganized into a large army after spreading in Youzhuo. Their army had begun to invade Zhou District under the name of revenge. Kei had suspected this considering their attitude, they were very brutal people and his strike against them created a blow in their ego, so of course they would seek revenge.

Reports of some garrisons near the border being annihilated already reached him. Right now, he had heard a commander named Kousonsan, who was appointed by the Imperial Court to suppress the Yellow Turbans in a different prefecture, is fighting courageously on his way back to base.

However, his army was already low in soldiers, and it was only a matter of time before they break through. He had sent a request to the Imperial Army to deploy their main forces to his aid.

The messenger lost consciousness after he had delivered the message to Kei. The Office was in an uproar, after having the man given some medical attention, Aisha and Rinrin gave orders to each department, and they had deployed forces to march onward to lend Kousosan support.

On their travel, Kei had noticed that the soldiers were facing fatigue from the ongoing deployments. Though it was discussed with Aisha and Rinrin, the three of them could not figure out what to do. As they continued to argue, a messenger approached them and knelt before Kei.

"What's the situation soldier?"

"Sir! We have discovered a detached force of Yellow Turbans two li ahead of our unit!"

"Do you know what they are planning?"

"The detached force is thought to be planning an attack on the farmers who immigrated from other prefectures!"

"Thank you…Aisha" Kei called

"Yes, Sir! All units, double time! We must catch up with the other squad and protect the farmers!"

"All units, follow me" Rinrin ordered

"YEAH!"

After Aisha's command, Kei's unit quickened its march to catch up to their other squad. Shortly thereafter, they had encountered farmers carrying their household belongings.

"Good! We still have time!" Kei said, "Chouhi squad, join the other unit and form a front. Kan'U squad will lead the farmers and retreat for the time being!"

"Yes Sir!"

He turned towards Aisha, "I appreciate it if you can come back as soon as possible, we don't know how many enemy soldiers are there"

"Of course. Please hand in there with Rinrin until I come back"

"Got it. Rinrin, I'm counting on you"

"Sure! I'll protect you, Onii-chan. Good luck to you, Aisha!" she smiled

"Leave it to me, Kan'U squad, move out!"

As Kan'U and her unit had left to lead the farmers away to a safe place. Kei and Rinrin stood in the front as they gazed at the incoming enemy.

"What should we do Onii-chan?"

"Considering the fact that they are leading the first charge, we shall hail them in a rain of arrows once they are in range"

"Good point. After that, maybe it's best if Rinrin charges in…huh?"

"What is it?" said Kei as he noticed the sudden urgency behind her voice

"There are some people who got left behind"

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yeah. A girl and an old person. Nyah! This isn't good. Onii-chan, we have to move in! We must rescue them!"

"Agreed! Chouhi squad, prepare to attack! We're charging in too!"

"YEAH!" the soldiers shouted as all of them unsheathed their swords

"Move out! Everyone follow Rinrin!" she announced

* * *

As they charged, Kei and Rinrin ran ahead of the soldiers and soon came into two people. A little girl and an old woman.

"Enhito Chuohi has now arrived!"

"Hawa?" the little girl asked

"Hmm? You're a little girl. Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm not…but…I'm not a little girl! I'm a grown girl!" she huffed as she placed her hands on her hips

"Rinrin's a grown up too! Onii-Chan I found them!" Rinrin said turning to Kei

"Good work. Rinrin handle the Yellow Turbans as I take the two and fall back"

"Rinrin's going to cream those bad Yellow Turbans!"

"Be careful…"

And so Rinrin had quickly dashed towards the enemy with her weapon ready. Kei then turned to the two civilians, "Are you two okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay. Did you come to rescue us?"

"Yes, we did. We came from the Zhou District"

"I see thank you for coming"

"Don't mention it. The people who were ahead of you are already being taken to a safe place by my people. Why don't you go join them?"

"Alright…Com, dear, let's go" the old woman said looking at the young girl

"Hawa…"

"Dear?"

"Hawa?! Oh, please go on ahead of me, ma'am. I, umm…"

Kei then noticed the young girl looking at him strangely

"What is it?"

"Ah! Y-yes! Umm…are you the chief magistrate of Zhuo?!"

"Yes I am, why?"

"I knew it! So you are the Messenger of Heaven, right?" she looked at him happily

"Yes, they do call me that, but what about it?"

"Hawawa! Ah, umm! My Family name is Shokatsu! My first name is Ryou! My common name is Koumei!"

"Shukatus, as in Shokatsuryou?" Kei looked stunned

Shokatsuryou was a man renowned as an incredibly excellent strategist in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Shokatsuryou served Ryuubi as a strategist and played a major role in many battles. He rubbed his head as he gazed at the strategist in front of him, that famous strategist was this little girl?

Furthermore, Shokatsuryou lived in Jingzhou at the center of the continent. She wasn't supposed to join them until after Ryuubi' three personal visits.

Kei became confused, why was history changing? Was it because he was here interfering with the events of this land? It was a possibility but now it was still a theory.

"Umm, uhh! I-I'll do my besht!"

"Huh?"

"Hauu, I messed up. I said, i-I'll do my besht, so, umm…p-pwease let me shoin your shide! Auu, I messed up again…"

"That you did. Why don't you calm down first and take a few deep breaths"

Doing it first with some mistake, Kei then made her follow him as he began to breath in and out.

"Do you feel calmer now?"

"Ah, yes…"

"Okay, then can I ask you a few questions?" Kei began

"Yes?"

"Could you tell me your name again?"

"Yes! Umm, my name is Shokatsuryou. My common name is Koumei. Also, umm, my true name is Shuri"

"Thank you. So, why do you want to be on our side?"

"I…I was studying at a private school under a famous teacher, Suikyou-sensei. But I couldn't stand seeing weak people suffer. I always wanted to use my knowledge to help people. That's when I heard a messenger descended from Heaven in Youzhou…"

"And that's why you came all this way?" he guessed

"Yes" she nodded with such vigor that the girl's head might come off

"Okay, I don't have time right now but when this battle is over, let me hear your story. How about that?"

"Ah…will that be alright with you?!"

"Yes. So why don't you retreat with the old woman for now. We'll go after the girl and fight of the Yellow Turbans"

"Uh…umm!"

"What's wrong?"

"I'll go with you. Please let me go with you! I can be of use to you!" she said determined with a hint of fear

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. If I run because I'm scared, I won't be able to do anything…"

Kei knew that girl was scared but this was Shokatsuryou's decision so he had no authority to decide her choices.

"If that is your choice then ok. But stick near me"

"Yes!"

"Let us go!" after telling two soldiers to escort the old woman to the safe camp. Kei along with Shokatsuryou left with the soldiers.

* * *

By the time Kei and the others caught up with Rinrin, Aisha and her unit had already rejoined them in battle. The detached force of the Yellow Turbans sped up their march and bore down upon us.

"They really are but a mob. Charging forward is all they can do" Aisha said

"But when they are this many, it's not easy…" Rinrin complained

"Indeed. Surrounding them end exterminating them would be an option but with our numbers, it is impossible"

"According to the scouts, there are about ten thousand of them. Our army numbers only five thousand"

"With their detached force having ten thousand, there's no saying how large the main force is. We have to join Kousonsan's unit quickly, otherwise we'll be in trouble"

"Yes. We cannot afford to waste much time on this battle" Aisha agreed

"Then Charge! Smash! Victory!"

"It won't be that easy. Even if we defeat them with such a tactic, our numbers would decrease in an instant that we won't be able to help Kousonsan's unit"

As the three began to think of a plan, no one noticed as Shokatsuryou approached them

"Umm, excuse me…"

"Hmmm? Who are thou?"

"My mistake, I haven't introduced her yet. This is Shokatsuryou. She had recently joined us a little while ago"

"Joined us? I was not consulted about this? Furthermore, is she not just a little girl? How can she be of help in a battle?"

"Nyahaha! Aisha's being jealous" Rinrin laughed

"W-Why would I ever be jealous?! If my Lord places another woman at his side, then the issue of defending them…"

"That's jealousy right there!" Rinrin laughed more

"I said it's not!"

"Enough of this argument!" Kei ordered fiercely, "We are in battle! Continue this argument later. Anyway, what is it that you want to say Shokatsuryou?"

With the two girls now silent, Shokatsuryou now had time to speak

"Huh? O-oh, Y-yes!" She said as she now became more serious, "Umm…judging from the current situation, the Yellow Turbans will continue to charge without organizing a formation. Therefore, I believe it would be best for our army to spread out in a square formation and wait for their attack Then, after the initial charge, we have our center forces fall back and lure them between in our columns of men"

"Ah-hah!" Aisha's eyes sparkled from listening to Shokatsuryou

"An ingenious plan, we them cornered from two sides. We can round them up in one go. See Aisha, aren't you glad she's on our side"

"Yes. I am in awe of your discerning eye"

"Nyaha! You already let us see your jealousy, so acting food now won't help you" the young red head joked

"Nngh…"

"Hee-Hee….Umm, how does that sound?"

"That was an amazing plan but we would need our soldiers to move I a tight order"

"Yes you are right, My Lord. Which means it won't work for us yet"

"I see…then perhaps it would be more suitable to select an elite squad of men and have them attack from the flank at the right moment?"

"Now that is more realistic. Right now, we're up against the Yellow Turbans. As long as Aisha and Rinrin are with us, we shouldn't lose. It's just a matter of minimizing the casualties"

"Rinrin will do her best, do don't worry!"

"We'll probably okay, but we still have to be cautious. If this is a detached force, then we must conserve our energy to fight the man force"

"Hmm, you worry too much, Onii-chan!"

"As a leader I have to ensure the safety and low casualties of my men. I cannot simply relax"

"The enemy is here!" a messenger said approaching them

"Okay. Let's move as we planned"

"As you will! All units, take your positions! Kan'U and Chouhi's personal guard, standby in rear flank and await our orders! Rinrin!" Aisha called

"Yeah! Everyone, let's move out! Charge! Smash! Victory!"

And thus the battle had now began

* * *

Running towards his enemies, Kei acted as the Dark Horse as always, despite his young and fragile looking appearance, strength alone didn't always insure victory. He had already told the three that he would always acts alone to destroy the enemy from within thanks to his speed and skills.

"Kill the loser!" a large Yellow Turban male ordered causing the smaller people beside him to run towards Kei.

Smirking a little, Kei then increased his speed and vanished from his enemies eyes

"What the?!" said one of the charging soldiers.

As the enemy soldiers tried to locate the disappearing man, Kei suddenly appeared in front of one of the soldiers, grabbed his sword by the handle and slammed the end of the handle at the man's stomach.

"Gah!"

Taking the fallen man's sword, Kei ran towards the nearest person which was on his left side and impaled the sword at the man's head.

"What are you fool's doing?! Attack!" the large man ordered once more

Getting out of their stupor, they charged at Kei who then crouched down with his hands touching the ground. His posture was similar to that of a Jaguar preparing to pounce

"I don't know what you're planning but prepare to die!" one said who neared him and raised his blade.

Putting all his strength on his feet, he launched himself towards the soldier in front of him and speared the man straight in the stomach. As the soldier fell down, Kei aimed his right elbow at the man's right eye as he began to fall too.

"He is just one person! Kill him already!"

Standing up from the fallen soldier, Kei grabbed the man's sword and threw it to the three soldiers. The blade spun with great speed that as it slammed on the soldier on the center, it fully decapitated the man's head.

"Die"

The other two soldiers lunged at him with the spear pointed forward. Kei ran towards the two head on and as the spears were just a few feet away, he slammed the tips of the spear down with his two hands causing the blades to strike downward.

The two soldiers stumbled down causing the end of the spear to slammed straight to their gut making them drop their weapons. Kei then placed his hands at the two spears and pulled it, he then adjusted his holding as he now held the spears at the middle part.

"Damn Idiots! Can't do anything right!" the leader then raised his blade and charged at Kei.

Kei knew that despite his strength, the large leader could not run and would only tire himself. Quickly thinking of a plan, Kei ran once more towards the incoming enemy with his spears ready.

"Prepare to die you bastard!" the large man performed a downward slash at Kei.

Without much of an effort, Kei sidestepped and quickly slammed his right spear at the man's knee. Despite the spear to the knee, the man was still standing but only steadily. Wanting to deliver more damage, Kei twisted the spear while putting more push which had finally caused the leader to fall to his knees.

"_Perfect_" Kei dropped his right spear and ran towards the back of the large man. Grasping his last spear with both his hands, Kei jumped and impaled the back of the man's neck. As the man began to move from the sudden pain, Kei pulled out the spear causing blood to erupt from the open wound.

It was only about 5 seconds before the man finally drop dead to the ground, blood still oozing from his neck.

Seeing the man dead, Kei turned towards some enemy soldiers who had seen the fight. Some of the paled at their enemy's skills, despite his disadvantage, he was able to defeat one of the Yellow Turbans leader without much of an effort.

Seeing the man stare at the, they could only do one thing…

"RUN!" a soldier said as he dropped his weapon and ran

"HE'S RIGHT! RUN!"

"WE'LL BE KILLED BY A DEMON!"

And with that some of the soldiers began to retreat while some still continued to fight. Raising his spear high, Kei threw it towards a soldier from the distance and had managed to hit the man on the back.

Looking behind him, Kei then felt a sudden pain from his right shoulder. He began to massage to soaring pain as he returned back to his comrades.

"_I really need to get a sword…_"

Looking at his comrades from the distance he could see that the soldiers had already trapped the Yellow Turbans from the sides and began the final strike.

* * *

Through Shokatsuryou's Plan, Kei's Inside Attacks and Aisha and Rinrin's Strikes, they were able to defeat the detached force of the Yellow Turbans.

"Hmph! They were not even a challange" Aisha said with a sigh

"They were so weak, they stood no chance!" Rinrin also said while she puffed here cheeks

"All that matters is that we defeated them and we are uninjured. So what are the casualties?"

"There shouldn't be much of a hindrance for a battle with the main force"

"Good. Despite your inability to wield a weapon and fight, we became victorious because of your plan. With that, I truly thank you, Koumei"

"Y-Yes! U-Umm, by the way…" Shokatsuryou said while blushing, "Umm…if possible, I'd like you to call me by my true name"

"Is that what you want? Isn't it always someone special the only one who could use that name?"

"Yes! You are the one who will be My Lord, so I want you to call me by my true name!"

"If that is what you truly want then OK. I thank you for helping us Shuri"

Shuri simply smiled with a blush as she gazed at Kei who was simply smiling back at the young girl.

"Ahem…" Aisha said as she gazed at Kei with strange glance, "…Now that the introductios are over, shall we depart?"

"We better hurry, or Kousonsan will be defeated!" Rinrin said

"You are right. Let's Go!"

After reorganizing the soldiers and sending the injured soldiers back to the village, all of them made haste as they headed towards where the Camp of the Yellow Turban's Main forces were deployed

Though they were moving in a fast pace, Kei simply found himself getting bored and suddenly let himself rest at the back of his horse.

Aisha could only sweat dropped at her lord's actions.

"How can you be so relaxed? We are headed to a battlefield"

"Sorry Aisha, I do not enjoy getting bored and there is nothing much to do"

"Haha. Onii-chan is not mentally prepared at all" Rinrin laughed

"Hmmm. Aren't you in the same boat as well Rinrin"

"Nuh Uh! Rinrin is always mentally prepared!"

"Oh wait! Look, there's a dog!" Kei said as he sat up straight and pointed at something behind Rinrin

"A puppy?! Where's the puppy?!" Rinrin turned around only to see nothing at all, "…Ah!"

"Like I said Rinrin, in the same boat" Kei smirked as he then laid down again

"Grr! You tricked me, Onii-chan"

Kei simply chuckled

"Good grief…" Aisha said with a sigh

Shuri meanwhile who was looking at them giggled

"You should not be laughing either, Koumei. This friendly atmosphere will affect our troops' morale. Furthermore…"

Aisha was about to continue until Shuri interrupted

"Oh…Umm, Kan'u-san, Chouhei-san too…"

"Hmm?"

"Yeah?"

"Umm…Could you both please call me by my true name too? Otherwise I'll feel like there's a wall between us"

"I do not mind but…" Aisha said hesitantly, "Are you sure? It is taboo to let others call you by your true name unless you have acknowledge them. If a stranger were to call you by your true name, would that not be an insulting disgrace to your honor"

"You haven't acknowledged us yet, Koumei!"

"Rinrin is right. That's why we've been calling you by your common name…"

"That's not true! Kan'u-san, Chouhi-san, you're both very strong and try even hard. I though both of you were amazing! So…If I do say so myself, I greatly acknowledge both of you! That's why, umm…If you'd be grateful enough to acknowledge me, then I'd like you to call me by my true name"

Despite him hearing about what the girls were talking about, Kei wasn't much interested on what they were saying. Despite everything he read in History, mostly of it were to research about ancient weapons, that was also the only reason why he became interested in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

"_I better just get some small rest_" Kei sighed a little as he then closed his eyes

"Hmm…you have proven your ability in the last battle, we do acknowledge you. Your insight to spot the right moment to attack, and also your flexible strategy are absolutely impressive"

"Grr, Rinrin though the same thing!" she said in a cheerful and loud voice causing Kei to open his eyes

"Then why don't you call each other by your real names? You both acknowledge each other" he said in a bored tone

"…yes, you're right. Since we have acknowledged one another, there should be no problems"

"Then…"

"Yup! Rinrin's true name is Rinrin! Shuri, we look forward to having you!"

"Same here. My true name is Aisha…Let us continue to fight together"

"Yes!"

Kei smiled seeing that the situation has finally ended. It was a good thing that it had ended quickly, if it hadn't, they would be problems during times when they should cooperate with each other.

"Anyway, let's quit chatting and continue…"

"Nngh. were you not the first one to relax, My Lord?" Aisha said with a blush

"That's right!" Rinrin added

Aisha then looked at Rinrin with a suspicious glance, "Rinrin, did you not join him?"

"Grrr. Aisha betrayed me" Rinrin said with a pout

Shuri meanwhile giggled again.

Kei simply turned to the other side as Aisha started to preach them again while heading towards our next battlefield.

* * *

Kousonsan's encampment was approximately two li east of the field where they defeated the Yellow Turban's detached forces.

Upon arriving at the encampment, Kei headed to meet Kousonsan with Shuri. Nearing the tent, Kei and Shuri were met with a beautiful woman with long light red hair tied in a ponytail and golden eyes. She wore a simple sleeveless white and pink clothing and armor with golden linnings.

"Hmm…So you're the man they call the Messenger of Heaven, huh?"

Kei became startled a little and then relaxed, "Pleasure to meet you Kousonsan. And will you please stop checking me"

"Ha ha ha, sorry, that was rude of me. Sorry about that, I was a little curious you know…"

"No, that's Ok. It was just startled that you called me the Messenger of Heaven out of the blue like that…"

"Don't worry. Dropping that aside, I thank you for holding back the Yellow Turbans. Without you, the people in this area would have been attacked"

"What, that? I was just on my way back to my nest in Ryousei Commandery. It was just a stop on the way" She said waving her hands and bashfully turning away

"It doesn't matter what reason you had. I still thank you for it"

"T-that's enough already. By the way, how many soldiers did you bring with you?"

"About that, Shuri, explain it to Kousonsan here"

Shuri stood next to Kei and looked at Kousonsan, "Yes. Considering the casualties we suffered in our battle with the Yellow Turban's detached force and the reserves called in to replace them, we currently have roughly five thousand men"

"Approcimately five thousand…" Kousonsan said while rubbing her chin with her figner, "Adding them to my soldiers, we have a little over ten thousand…"

"And the enemy numbers?"

"Roughly 25, 000. The difference in numbers is so vast that we've had trouble just slowing them down"

"Letting 5,000 stand against 25, 000 would be more reckless"

"Ah you realized it too? That's how it is…Now you know why we blocked off the roads to Zhou District and confined ourselves in our encampment. If they can't get into Zhou district, then the only other places for them to assault are Qiao and Hebei, right? Sousou's and Enshou' strongholds are there, and they're well protected, so there's no point in protecting them"

"So you guarded this place for us" Kei said with a sly smile

"Fool, I already told you I was just in the neighborhood! That's all! It's not like I thought I had to protect you or anything!"

"_The words of a born Tsundere_" Kei though mentally laughing, "Thanks…"

"Hey' shut up, don't thank me! You're embarrassing me!"

"You don't have to be shy"

"I'm not being shy! I'm just embarrassed!" Kousonsan said with a full blush on her face

"_Isn't embarrassed the same as shy_?"

"Kousonsan-dono. May I?" a new voice asked

Kei who saw the girl a while back finally saw her appearance. She had short light blue hair with two bangs framing either side of her face and very red eyes. Her clothes looked similar to that of a priestess yet without the red pants and a little more revealing.

"What is it?" Kousonsan said finally regaining her composure

"Reinforcements have arrived, which is splendid news" the new girl said, "Therefore, I would like to hear your plan for defeating the Yellow Turbans. Thereafter, I shall lead the vanguard and confer victory upon you"

"There you go again…I can understand your desire to prove your valor, but I'm talking with Tokiwa now. Don't you think it's insolent to interrupt?"

"Were I your vassal, then that would be the case. However, I do not recall becoming your vassal" she said while posing a sexy pose

Kei became startled a little and closed his eyes but Kousonsan simply ignored it, "That is true. Then what do you say we do?"

"It's obvious. We're up against a mob. If a matchless warrior attacks and strikes fear into them, they will surely rout. We should charge immediately"

"That's a crazy idea. They outnumber us. The most basic strategy in war is to ready more soldiers than your opponent. With that in mind, attacking them with our current force is unthinkable!"

"That would be correct if we faced a legitimate army. We need to strategy to defeat those ruffians. All we need is a might warrior and a relentless attack!"

"There you go, boasting again. Are you saying we have a daring general capable of such a frighteningly, ferocious attacks in my army?"

"There are at least three here" the female said

"Oh? Name them, then"

"Kan'u-dono, Chouhi-dono and then me"

"Kan'u and Chouhi? Who are they?"

"Those two are my Comrades, Kousonsan. I'm currently having them wait with our soldiers"

"Are they as good as she claims?"

"Yes. Their ability to lead and fight is on very high caliber"

"Hmm. If the Messenger from Heaven says so, then I'm positive they are"

"However, that doesn't mean we can waste our soldiers' lives in such a reckless attack. Think of something else"

"You're sodt, Kousonsan-dono. You may well be the general of a district, but you'll never be the ruler of a country that way"

"How dare you…Fine, if you're that confident, why don't you do as you wish?"

"Hmph. Offer Accepted"

Looking at the two, Kei could very well see that this new girl had very much Kousonsan in control. As Kousonsan was easily angered, the blue haired girl had a calm and manipulative personality.

"Excuse me, Kousonsan?"

"Sorry about that. Forget about what just happened"

"Is that girl going to OK? From what I see, it looks like she truly intends to charge in alone"

"Leave her be. People like that are all talk. I doubt she'll show that much courage in the face of their army. She'll either meet an honorable death or come running home with her tail between her legs"

"But…If a general falls before the battle, then won't that affect the whole army's morale?" Shuri said worriedly

"That is true. Do you have a plan Shuri?"

"Let's see…Please wait a moment"

Shuri began to think of a plan and Kei was mentally thinking about a small Shuri in his head who began to read some scrolls and calculating some plans.

"I've got it! I've come up with two plans: One for it she does attack and one for if she doesn't!" She said while tugging Kei's white sleeve

"I see. Very interesting. Good work" Kei said as he rubbed Shuri's head

"Hee Hee…you rubbed my head…" Shuri said giggling

"Is there any reason to go that far in saving Chouun? Wouldn't it be more constructive to devise a plan for wiping them out with our forces?"

Kousonsan objected

"Hm?"

"We should devise a plan for wiping them out with our forces?"

"No, Before that. You said her name is Chouun, right?"

"Yeah. Her name is Chou Shiryuu. She said she wanted to protect people, and ended up staying with us. Well, she is strong and smart, so I decided to let her stay as an ancillary general"

"I see…"

That was another unexpected yet expected thing, seeing that Kan'u, Chouhi and Shokatsurou were females. Kei suspected that the others should be too, he never really expected that he was right all along

"_But shouldn't all four of them be gathered under the hero Ryuubi? Ryuubi hasn't even shown him or herself yet since I have arrived. Could I have taken the role as Ryuubi?_"

If Kei was right, then Bachou and Kouchuu should join him soon. If so, there was also a strange thing, Shokatsuryou should have joined Ryuubi after the Yellow Turban Rebellion and yet she joined them at the middle. Kei could only think of one reason on why these strange events were happening…

"_My appearance here is tampering history…"_ Kei thought until it him again, _"But if I had traveled to the past, shouldn't Kan'u and Chouhi be males. Could this be a parallel world? If so, then could my knowledge about the future even be wrong?"_

Kei's mind shook from the large questions he had. One after the other, a question would appear and it would lead to more questions. Kei had to truly understand his situation for him to fully know that is happening.

As he continued to think, Kei was then interrupted by an uproar nearby

"What happened?"

As he asked, a soldier approached the three, "My Lady! Chouun-dono has left the camp and is preparing to charge the enemy army!"

"Damn it, what is she thinking? Shit!"

"This has become a dangerous situation. Shuri!"

"Yes!"

"Tell Aisha and Rinrin to gather the soldiers! We deploy immediately!"

"Haooag?! R-Roger!"

Shuri quickly ran towards their comrades as Kousonsen confronted Kei

"Hey, what do you mean? Why don't you leave her alone?"

"I cannot stand still as I know that there is someone in trouble. We'll go after Chouun" Kei said but his real reason was that he needed Chouun alive, if she died right now, future events would drastically change and Kei wanted to follow the same path as written in the Tale

"What are you saying? If our soldiers don't join our forces, then we can't beat them?!"

"Take care of Yourselves. I trust you'll do well, General Kousonsan. If it comes to mind, you can use us as bait, so do come up with a good plan"

"You can't do that to me…but…hmm, bait, huh?" she said as she began to mumble something, "Fine, Then we will use you as ait. We'll lay in ambush and attack them from behind. How about that?"

"Sure, Good Plan. Thanks"

"Shut up. Do what you want. But you must endure attack to at least allow us to prepare. Carve that into your mind"

"Understood"

"If I think it's too dangerous, we'll pull out. I have no reason to stay with you at that much risk to us"

Kei simply nodded

"But…well, I guess…I will be praying for your success"

"Thank you" Kei said as bid her farewell and returned back to Aisha and Rinrin

* * *

"Hah…What are you thinking? Good Grief" Aisha said with a deep sigh

Kei knew that Shuri has already told her everything

"I'm sorry Aisha"

"It is not a matter you can simply apologize for. Please think about our soldiers"

"I know but you can't always be victorious in battle if you don't take risks. Besides, that girl is someone we must save. With her help, we can become closer to our goal of ending this war"

"Is she that powerful?" Aisha asked startled by her Lord's words

"Yes" Kei said confidently

"That girl did seem strong" Rinrin said

"Did you see it?"

"Yeah. Her simple walk didn't have any single opening"

"I see. However…attacking a rebel army that large all by herself is nothing but reckless" Aisha said

"I know. But that's why we have to save her"

"You may be right, but…their numbers are vast and ours are not. What are you saying we should…"

"I have a plan" Shuri suddenly said

"You do?"

"Yes. There may be a difference in our forces, but we can handle them with what we have"

"How so?"

"I'm not sure if it's big enough to call a plan, but as soon as Chouun-san charges in, Aisha-san must take your personal guard and have them charge in with you"

"Oh? I'll be charging in too?"

"What about Rinrin?"

"Rinrin-chan, please lead the troops and follow Aisha-san. However, please place twice in the number of standard bearers"

"Standard bears? Don't tell me you're planning to deceive the enemy in thinking that we have a huge army"

"I see. We are going to trick them, huh?"

"Yes. The enemy is relying on their size and charging in, so Aisha-san, once your squad clashes with their vanguard, please retreat quickly to the main camp"

"So our goal is to confuse them?"

"Yes. But when you retreat, please make sure you bring Chouun-san with you, okay?"

"Hmm…I hope Chouun won't refuse to retreat…"

"If that happens, we'll think of something else. The main unit will signal you to retreat, so please don't miss it, okay?"

"Of course not. But what happens after that?"

"While you retreat, our main unit will spread out and surround the Yellow Turban's vanguard. When we do this, please leave their rear open or they'll become desperate to break through"

"But then they'll escape?"

"that's fine. If they become desperate, we'll suffer greater casualties…After that, we'll match our timing with Kousonsan and catch them in a pincer attack"

"I see. We use our charge to confuse the emey, then we make a strategic retreat to rule their vanguard out and buy time for Kousonsan's army"

"Exactly"

"Hmm…that's impressive, Shuri"

"Indeed, with a plan like that, Kousonsan's army would be able to come much more early"

"Hee Hee"

"Very well. I leave our main unit in your hands. I'll be counting on you for our signal" Aisha said to Shuri

"Yes!"

"I wish you luck. My Lord. I'll be going now"

"Be careful Aisha, I pray your success"

"Thank you for the kind words…Farewell" Aisha said as he bowed at Kei and left

* * *

"Grr. Rinrin wants to charge too"

"I know you want too Rinrin but you must command the soldiers here" Kei said

"Then why haven't you left yet Onii-chan?"

"I'm still getting ready" Kei removed his white jacket and tied it to his waist with the back of the jacket covering his right leg

"Ready? You usually charge in without getting ready"

"That was in the last battles and despite our victory, I think I need my own weapons instead of taking from the enemy"

"Hehe, Onii-chan is cool when he does that but Aisha always worries when you do that"

"Do you not worry about me Rinrin?"

"I worry but I know Onii-chan is strong"

Kei grab a pair of gauntlets on the ground and wore it, "Rinrin, can you get the dagger there?"

Rinrin looked at her right side and saw a small dagger placed within a black scabbard, "Is this your only weapon Onii-chan?"

"My secondary weapon actually, I don't think I can always charge at the enemy without a weapon" he said as he grabbed the dagger and tied the string on it over his waist making the weapon hang from his back, "Anyway, I'll leave the signal to you Shuri"

"Yes! Leave it to me!"

"Oh and Rinrin, promise me that you will protect Shuri"

"I promise Onii-chan!"

"Right! Move out!"

"Ah…My Lord! Aisha-san and the others are retreating! The Yellow Turbans' vanguard is in pursuit!"

"Good. The plan is working perfectly. Rinrin, time for the next move"

"Leave it to me! Everyone prepare for battle!" With her command, the soldiers got up and ran towards their stations, "Surround the incoming enemy and beat them to a pulp! Everyone, follow me!"

Cracking his knuckles, Kei ran towards the enemy with blinding fast speed

* * *

As Kei ran, he gripped the dagger on his back and held the blade in a reverse formation. In front of him were a large group of Yellow Turban Soldiers.

Holding the dagger's handle with a strong grip, Kei mad his move, "Hikoraijin Style: Dragon Thunder Claw!"

Increasing his speed, Kei ran to his enemies with great and speed and in an instant slashed one of the soldiers on the neck.

"What the?!"

"How did he move so fast?!"

A soldier ran towards him and performed a frontal slash, Kei raised his dagger and blocked the sword. He then curved his dagger causing the sword to slide down to his side

"Hikoraijin Style: God Heaven Vortex"

Dodging the attack, he then spun around and sliced the man at the back of his neck. Thanks to the momentum and the centrifuge within his strike, the man's neck was almost cut off.

Grabbing the dead man's sword, Kei went to the next person and slashed the man's shoulder. The yellow soldier screamed in pain as he landed on the ground, clutching the wound on his shoulder.

Kei then looked at some of the charging men and placed his right foot back, "Hikoraijin Style: Fist Break"

Kei ran towards the men before leaping with his fist reared back. As he landed in front of one of the soldiers, Kei sent his reared fist straight to the man's left chest. The blow was strong and combined with the strength he had just transferred to his fist, it sent to man flying straight towards his fellow soldiers.

The group of soldiers, collided to each other making most of them fall down. Taking his chance, Kei grabbed another sword and ran towards the fallen soldiers

"You fools! Stand up!" one of them shouted

As one soldier tried to stand up, Kei stomped on the man's right arm before plunging the sword to the man's neck. Taking the sword once more, Kei crouched down, avoiding an attack.

"_Too Slow_" Adjusting his grip on the sword, Kei jumped back before throwing the sword straight to the attacked. The sword flew fast and plunged itself on the man's leg making him scream in pain.

Kei then returned the dagger back to its scabbard and grab two swords in a reverse formation, and raised his hands in front of his face similar to the stance of a boxer.

"Let's Go!" Kei ran towards his enemies and slashed a soldier on the neck. He then ran towards another where he twisted and plunged his right sword at another soldier's neck. He twisted the blade a little before removing it.

"KILL HIM!"

Kei ran forward and as he dodged one of the attack, he slammed his foot at the man's head causing him to fall down. He then raised his two swords and plunged it both at the man's chest. He quickly removed the swords and continued his attack

From there the slaughter truly had started, with just his swords, Kei overwhelmed the enemies with his Speed and Skills. More and More soldiers fell before him each with fatal injuries, mostly in the neck, head or chest.

* * *

As the battle continued forth, Aisha became worried about the wherabout of Kousonsan's army

"Shuri! Where is Kousonsan's army?"

"I don't know! They should show up any time now, but I don't know how that general will…"

Just as Shuri was about to continue, a soldier interrupted, "A cloud of dust and cavalry on white horses have been spotted behind the enemy!"

"What flag do they fly?"Chouun asked

"Kouson! It's our reinforcements!"

"Great!"

"We did it, Aisha-san"

"Yes! Now it's time to go on the offensive! Let us join Kousonsan's army and catch them in a pincer attack!"

"Indeed" Kei said as he appeared, bloodied as always, "Are the soldiers ready?"

"Yes" Shuri answered, slightly disturbed by the amount of blood their lord was covered with

"Then all units! Charge!"

* * *

With Kousonsan's army attacking the Yellow Turbans behind, the deadlock had suddenly turned on their favor.

Kei and his comrades didn't let the chance escape. They issued commands to their defending troops and quickly turned the tables on the enemy.

Their abilities had allowed them to become victorious in the battle.

"Good Work. Are you injured?" Kei asked Chouun

"Oh, Tokiwa-dono. Thank you for your concern. Fortunately, I am not injured" she said with a smile

"I'm glad. That was a reckless of you, Chouun-san"

"That wouldn't fall under the category of reckless. More importantly…hmm? How do you know my name?"

"Kousonsan did. She told me that you became an ancillary general"

"Yes. That would be correct. However, I unfortunately doubt that Hakukei-dono will be my lord much longer"

"Why is that?" he asked

"Yes. She is certainly not incompetent, but she will never become an Emperor capable of protecting the people and ruling this world. She has valor but she lacks what it takes to become a hero"

"That is true. Despite her leadership, she becomes hesitant when the danger of the situation increases and lets her worry cloud her judgement"

"I see that you have seen it Tokiwa-dono"

"It wasn't hard, I saw it when we were talking"

"Isn't that a bit rude, Onii-chan?"

"That maybe rude but it is the truth"

"Indeed, there are only a few people who do have what it takes to be a hero on this continent"

"Is that true?" Shuri asked excitedly, "Do you mean…"

"Yes. First there is Sousou of Gi. There are very few people capable of loving promising talent and using those men efficently"

"Who else?"

"Sonken of Go…Well, compared to Sonsaku of the previous generation, Sonken is rather conservative, but Sonken probably has more of what it takes. If she can awaken the hero within her, then she will be someone to watch out for. The last one is-"

"Our Lord, of course!" Aisha interruptedly said

"Hmph. Yes. You, Tokiwa-dono, the one who has made a name for himself in Youzhou as the Messenger of Heaven"

"Me?" Kei surprisingly asked

"Why are you surprised? Think of your benevolent governing of Zhuo Distrcit and the countless Yellow Turbans you have crushed even without any form of weapon. Of course the people will extol you as a benevolent ruler, My Lord"

"Really?"

"Yes. Remember the classic sages, Yao, Shun and also the great Emperor Liu Bang. Each one of them was essentially a benevolent person who used their vassals well and became a hero. That's why you too will be a hero someday, My Lord"

"A hero, huh?" Kei never truly believed in Heroes. Heroes had qualities like Courage, Goodness, Grace and Self-Sacrifice and these were the qualities of only a perfect human. Perfect humans are nothing but a myth and if there were, they were labeled as gods and gods were never thought as humans.

And that was the reason why Kei never believed in Heroes. People only call other people Heroes who aren't really heroes at all. But this was Kei's belief, not there's so he could just put it aside.

"If that is what ii is, then finve. By the way, what are you going to do not, Chouun-san? Are you going to return to Kousonsan?"

"There's no reason to. I think I shall travel the continent for a while and see if there aren'y any other heroes worth serving"

"If you're looking for a hero, then is there not one right here?" Aisha told her

"Hu-hu, that is true" Chouun said as she looked at Kei and smiled

"If you acknowledge me, Chouun-san, then it would a pleasure to me for you to join us"

Chouun blushed a little and said, "I appreciate your offer…However, I have already spoken. I will not turn back on my words"

"She's surprisingly stubborn" Rinrin said with a pout

"Yes, I am. I find that trait too much for myself at times, but…I want to find someone worthy to serve with my own eyes. Besides, I still have much to learn. I must find out how this continent is doing ow, and how it will change"

"I see…that is unfortunate"

"Indeed but that is your decision and I will accept it" Kei said surprising Chouun

"Are you not disappointed?"

"Why should I be? Despite by happiness if you would join us, everything is after all is your decision. Who am I, despite my Title as Messenger of Heaven, to deny you what you want."

Chouun smiled once more to Kei

"Thank you. It has been an honor to fight by your side"

"Same here" Aisha replied, "I was glad to fight alongside one such as yourself…will we meet again?"

"Yes. I promise. Although…" she then looked at Kei, "…that time may come sooner than you think"

"I hope so"

"Yes. Chouun-san, the way you fought were amazing" the young strategist complimented, "I wish we could fight together"

"Thank you. But let me have my way. Sorry…"

"No need to apologize. How about this? If you haven't found a good person to serve at the end of your travels, why don't you come back to us? We'll be waiting always"

"Yeah…When that happens, I would love to" she said with a nod, "Now then. Farewell"

And thus she turned away as her hair swayed with her turning back and had left to the distance.

* * *

"That was unfortunate" Aisha sadly said

"I know but this is her choice. Besides, one day I am sure she would come back to us. I know that that day would come and I will be there, waiting for her"

"Oh?...You've grown quite attached to her" Aisha said giving Kei that suspicious look again

"Is that how it looks like?"

"A little…" Aisha blushed and turned her gaze away from Kei

"Nyahaha! Aisha is acting jealous again!" Rinrin laughed next to Kei

"I-I am not jealous! Positively not!" Aisha answered back

"U-hu-hu, Aisha-san, your face is beet red"

"You too Shuri? I'll say it again, what reason do I have to be jealous in the first place?!"

Kei simply smiled at the three girls and turned his eyes towards the blue sky. There bonds with each other have increased through their victories in the war and their trust to each other.

"The future looks very bright…" he softly said as he sat down and leaned near a tree, looking at Rinrin and Shuri who were teasing the blushing Aisha. He chuckled a little at such a sight.


	4. Chapter 4

"The Alliance"

Gazing at the scenery around him, Kei sat and leaned on a near boulder on his back. Days had passed since their great victory and Kei took a while to simply relax. After the battle, they returned to the village with Shuri. The young girl became quite a joy to the group, her clumsy personality and cheerfulness made it easy for Kei to forget about the bloodshed that has passed.

But enough of that, Kei was in the garden to relax for a while and where would be a better place to relax than here in a beautiful garden. The sun shined perfectly while the breeze flowed with great calmness that it made Kei's mind drift like the wind.

"Hmmhmmm…."

Hearing a sudden yet light sound, Kei looked around and soon found himself staring at Shuri sitting near a tree and reading a book.

Interested at the girl's appearance, Kei stood up walked towards the concentrating young tactician.

"You sure are concentrating Shuri"

"H-Hah…?!Master?"

"Don't mind me. I just wanted to sit next to you, if there's no problem?"

"S-sure….please" she said while lowering her head to hide her blush

As she shifted for Kei to have a seat, Kei simply observed the girl's reaction before sitting down. It was very obvious to Kei that the girl was a shy one, except when in the line of battle where her intelligent side revealed herself.

"So may I ask what you are reading?"

"Oh? It's nothing interesting…ohh, I'm so embarrassed…I'm sorry"

"Easy there. You don't have to be embarrassed Shuri"

"Well…It's the Spring and Autumn Annals of Lu Shi…It must be easy for someone who knows the workings of the universe like you"

"The Workings of the Universe? True" How could he deny it, he had lived in the distant future where their knowledge of the universe was much greater than on this time, "Putting that aside, tell me about yourself Shuri"

"About myself?"

"Of Course. I heard that you were going to school but you desired to use your knowledge in the real world so you decided to go to the battlefield, am I correct?"

"Yes. When I was little, I was studying in a private school under Suikyou-sensei…"

"Suikyou-sensei? Is this Suikyou person also someone named Shibaki?"

"Hah?! Do you know Sensei…?"

Oops, it would seem that Kei entered a dangerous line. He had to think of something other than Yes or No, seeing that both lend into a deeper whole. But wait, if it was true then this Parallel Universe, was similar to the true Romance of the Three Kingdom.

So considering that Shuri was female, then it was a high possibility that Shibaki was also female. Kei had to gamble for now.

"Just the name. I have never met her, is she really old?"

"No, she is a very pretty person"

"_I knew it. So despite them being female, the events are still the same_" he thought. At least there are things that wasn't confusing him now, "Anyway, what should we do next? Do you have any suggestions as my strategist?"

"Yes….? Y-yes, yes!"

"_I really have to do something about her shyness_"

"I'm still inexperience but I can see that our military has enormous potential. Having General Kan'U and General Chouhi under your command, both of whom equal a thousand soldiers"

"I see"

"That potential is…a bud. I believe you should grow it to blossom with care"

"_So for now, everything is still normal and there are no dangers within the military_"

"No special strategy is necessary. Please stay compassionate toward your nation. They'll repay you by brining prosperity"

"Impressive words you have there, Shuri"

"Thank you, Master"

"I don't know much if I can truly save this world from war but I have to try"

"Do not worry, Master. We will always be with you, so please don't worry"

"Thank you"

"I'll do my best too…I don't want to fall behind those girls…" she said with the last sentence in a mumble

"Hmm? You say something?"

"N-No! I didn't say anything! Heh heh"

Chuckling a little, Kei stood and up bid Shuri goodbye as he headed back to his room.

* * *

Kei left his room and headed to the town to visit the local blacksmith which he had told to create a weapon for him. And that weapon was going to be the very first Wakizashi in this Era. Despite the lack of knowledge on appearance and on how the weapon was forged, Kei gave him an instruction book he had made after writing down what he knew about forging the blade.

He had told asked the man to forge the blade many weeks ago, seeing that the man needed some time to become familiar with forging the wakizashi. From what he received, the blade was already finished.

So here he was now, going to get the sword which would soon become his signature weapon which would soon give him an extra addition in battle.

But there was one thing that bothered him…

"Is there something wrong?" a guard asked

"Nothing…"

After he had left his room, he was quickly followed by five guards with spears on their hand.

"Is that the new lord? Hmm, he's younger than I thought…" a citizen said

"Do you need anything?" one guard asked

"Heee, sorry!"

With that fierce gaze, Kei could understand the man who ran. It felt like he was a celebrity which, even if he was in the future, would not very much enjoy it.

It bothered him on how Aisha was too worried about him, he already showed how he can handle himself against the Yellow Turbans. He knew that Aisha was only thinking of his safety but still…

"You didn't have to frighten the man"

"I understand their sentiments of wanting to behold your countenance, but…if we allow even one to, then the matter will become uncontrollable. Please forgive us"

"That is alright"

He understood their reasons and didn't bother to argue. They did what they were assigned to do and that was to protect him.

"Mm?! My Lord, please step back"

"Hmm?" Kei questioned sensing the guard's tense voice.

Turning around at the direction on where the spears where pointed, he suddenly heared a familiar voice

"…Niiiii…haaaaaaan!"

"Lower your weapons, it's only Rinrin"

The guards relaxed and straightened their spears

"But wasn't Chouhi-dono assigned to guard the south gate?"

"She was…" Kei wondered

"I found you!" Rinrin said as she approached Kei, "Yo!"

"Yo" he replied with a smile

"Look, look, Onii-chan! I found a doggie!"

Kei looked down to see a brown haired chubby dog in her hands

"No, I found it!" one of the children who followed her said

"I told her to come and she came" another one added

"I caught her! Look, isn't she cute?"

The dog suddenly barked

"Indeed, she's cute" Kei rubbed the dog's head causing it to stir in happiness

"Hee, hee, she is almost as cute as me"

Kei agreed on both declarations. Those two really looked cute…

"Chouhi-dono, what about the south gate?" the guard asked

"It's been a long time since I've seen a doggie! This must be a wonderful city for a stray dog to survive and not starve!"

Rinrin simply ignored the guard's question

"That is true, seeing how chubby she is, she must have eaten plenty of good food"

"She must be loved by all the people of the city. She does have charm"

"Rinrin, switch with me. I want to hold her too"

"I found her!"

The children began to argue again

"Shut up. I'm showing the doggie to Onii-chan now…Wah!"

Rinrin stopped as the dog began to scramble on her hold until it suddenly began to lick her cheeks

"Wow, come on! She's so naughty and such a troublemaker"

"I think she wants you to let her go"

"She wouldn't say that! She surrendered, Onii-chan, you should have seen it! The chase was fierce!"

"Doesn't that mean the she doesn't like you…"

"No! we were just playing chess"

"That's right. She was wagging her tail the whole time"

"How dare you talk to the magistrate that way!" a guard shouted

Kei simply raised her hand that told the guard that it was alright

"Then she does like you then"

"Woof"

Kei smiled at the friendly dog. She reminded him about Rinrin when he rubs her head.

"Hee, hee, hee, you're welcome!"

As Rinrin hugged the dog close and rubbed her cheeks on the dog, Kei felt as if he was looking at a mother and a daughter. It was a very heartwarming sight.

"She can run so fast. But, when I caught her, she said she surrendered"

"Woof, woof"

"Don't lick and interrupt me when I'm talking!"

"Hehe, I bet that she wants to play again" Kei laughed along with the guards who joined him

"Yeah!"

"Looks like you're the only one who can seriously catch a dog"

"That's right! Rinrin's good at chasing!"

"Woof, woof"

"Seems that the dog is praising you, Rinrin"

"Since she surrendered, it's only natural that she's my subordinate! Hmm, Korin. She's Rinrin's subordinate, so her name will be Korin"

"That's a perfect name"

She said her name again and again as she continued to spun the dog around. Kei watched the two with a smile on his face

"By the way, Rinrin's hungry"

"How about you return home and eat some pork bun?"

"Great idea, Onii-chan. Thanks!"

"Woof, woof, woof"

"I would like to join you but I have to get my weapon first and then continue my patrol"

"Weapon? You'll have a weapon now Onii-chan?"

"Yep"

"A weapon is cool onii-chan but patrolling is boring! Rinrin would much rather play with Korin, that's more fun!"

Kei knew that patrolling was indeed boring but it had to be done to ensure the safety of the village. He could handle the boredom but considering that it was Rinrin…

"I know it gets boring Rinrin but you should better patrol your area or Aisha will be angry"

"Nyahaha! Don't worry, Aisha loves doggies"

"_That's not the problem…_"

"I know, why don't we go show the doggie to Aisha after you get your weapon and finished eating?"

"But Rinrin-!"

"Find Aisha, let's go!"

"Yeah!"

"Woof, woof"

Rinrin turned around with the kids, carrying the dog like a flag.

"To find me? There's no need for that" Aisha' sudden voice suddenly came

Kei and the others turned to the right to find Aisha standing there with a fierce gaze

"I received a report that you had disappeared, so I ran around looking for you. And here are you…what are you doing, abandoning your duties?"

"Ah, Aisha! Look, the doggie…"

"Your job is to guard the south gate, not to play with a dog!"

"Hyah!?"

Rinrin hid her face with the dog she was trying to show Aisha and quickly slid backwards. Aisha mercilessly followed through.

"Do you understand the current situation? Our battle isn't over yet…it's only starting"

"I-I know…don't be so angry" Rinrin sheepishly smiled

"You're a general who has to lead an army. How can you behave that way before your soldiers?"

Korin suddenly whined

"Don't sound so pathetic! You need to understand the position you're in"

"Rinrin didn't say anything?!" she clamped her mouth

"Don't you remember our vows? A peaceful world is still far away and we can't let our guards down yet!"

Kei felt sorry for Rinrin as she continued to shrink under Aisha's angry gaze.

"Now, now, Aisha. Why don't you let her go with that for now?"

"My Lord! If you spoil her like that, Rinrin will continue to…"

"Don't worry Aisha. You feel sorry for it too, right? Rinrin"

"I feel terrible…" she replied as she bowed her head in apology

Kei walked towards the girl and gave her a hug, "That's alright Rinrin, just don't do it again, ok?"

"Ok!"

"All right. Please don't let something like this happen again"

"Ok, Rinrin's royal guards, gather around!"

"Yeah!"

Royal Guards? That was interesting, it seemed liked all the children liked Rinrin and followed her. Looking at the children he noticed their sudden increase in number

"Rinrin shall now head back to work, so everyone take care of Korin while I'm gone!"

"What's your work, general?"

"My work is to protect this city!"

She knew her place well but because she's young, Kei knew that her innocence tended to show at times

"Good words Rinrin. I'll see you later" Kei said as he turned around

"I'll be going" Aisha added, "Just remember to stick to it, Rinrin"

"Sure!"

Both Kei and Aisha smiled. It was truly a blessing that Rinrin was here with them, she had the power to make everyone feel warm inside.

* * *

Leaving Rinrin and Aisha, Kei headed back to the Blacksmith with the guards following him again.

With the wakizashi finished and his armies at rest, Kei now gazed at the map again as they began to think of their next plans.

After the previous battle, they had now eliminated most of the Yellow Turbans in Youzhou. With those events, one city after another had come seeking their protection and now they had half of Youzhou on their side.

Kei was glad that their numbers were increasing but it also added an extra responsibility over him since there more people to protect.

"It's your personal virtue…"

Those were the words that Aisha kept telling him. He knew Aisha was just helping him but the pressure continued to grow.

As he now governed more than half of Youzhou, he knew he had to look at foreign affairs along with internal issues.

Thanks to Shuri, Kei was handling his work easily than he had expected. They now had spies dispatched throughout the continent.

As all of this was going on, a major incident shook the entire continent

Emperor Ling, the emperor of the Han dynasty, passed away.

His role as an emperor was very important, he was after all responsible for appointing generals and magistrates for the entire land.

It was no surprise that his death was big news but it should not have been a major incident. What really made it major was the coup d'état that took place after Emperor Ling's Death.

Because he passed away without name a successor, it was pretty obvious to Kei that the imperial court had begun to compete for succession to the throne.

There was Empress He, mother of one successor, Prince Bian, and her brother, He Jin, the commander-in-chief.

The next one were Prince Bian's half-brother, Liu Xie, Emperor Ling's mother, Empress Dong.

And then there were several of Emperor Ling's trusted eunuchs who served him in the inner palace.

Those factions clashed, all of which having the desire to seize Emperor Ling's throne. For a while, the He Jin factions rose to predominance, and Prince Bian became an unthroned emperor.

However, the eunuchs of Liu Xie's faction came to fear retribution from He Jin, so they had him assassinated.

Thereafter, the eunuchs called upon Toutaku, who had been summoned to the capital from Bingzhou by He Jin, to supply their military strength and protect them.

However, since the eunuchs had no means to protect themselves, Touraku, the hero of the west, was not about to be used at their whim. With a large military force behind them, they overthrew the unthroned emperor and Toutaku stole the throne for Liu Xie, declaring herself as Chancellor of State and monopolizing the Imperial Court.

With the Imperial Court under the reign of fear and violence, it split into two new factions: the faction who catered to Toutaku and the faction who opposed her. The conflict began to spread and sparks of rebellion erupted all over the continent.

Reports of this were coming from all directions.

Finally, a group of rulers allied to overthrow Toutaku. A messenger from Enshou came all the way to the land of Youzhou, requesting their participation in the Anti-Toutaku Alliance.

"This is a troubling situation" Kei said as he sat on the center chair at the main hall, "What do you think we should do?"

"Why do you need to ask? We cannot simply ignore this? People are already exhausted from the Yellow Turban Rebellion and now they must suffer this tyranny!" Aisha clearly declared

"That's right! I want to join!" Rinrin agreed

"So both of you agree huh? What about you Shuri?" he said turning to the young girl

"It's a difficult decision…"

"What are you saying? Between Rinrin, you and myself we can easily defeat Toutaku and her army!"

"Oh, that's not what I meant…"

"Then what did you mean" Rinrin asked

"An Anti-Toutaku Alliance of rulers…Let's call it an Anti-Toutaku Alliance. The Rulers participating in it are Sousou-san, Sonken-san and Enshou-san. All rulers whose countries have outstanding military and economic strength"

"Indeed" Kei nodded, "Compared to our army and revenue, they are more stronger than us"

"Yes. And with that in mind, I think that rather than forcing ourselves to join the Anti-Toutaku Alliance, we should focus on what comes after the revolt"

"After the revolt?"

"No matter which side wins, the Han dynasty is ruined and has lost its power. As a result, we'll be entering an era of rival warlords"

"I see, those with a strong sense of independence aren't going to follow some powerless dynasty after all, so that's highly likely"

"Yes. When that happens, many rulers will likely start waging war to expand their territories. As a result, countries with less financial and military might will be swallowed up one after another."

"And we would be one of them right?"

Shuri nodded, "To prevent that case, I believe we should prioritize strengthening our own country first…"

"Good point"

"Yes, she does…but…" Aisha became sad

"But we can't ignore people who are suffering" Rinrin continued

"I know we can't…hmm…"

Kei could see the dilemma they were facing. He could understand Aisha and Rinrin's problems, they wanted to protect the weak but the casualties others would sustain if they did something were holding them. No matter what they choose, someone would always suffer.

Aisha and Rinrin thought more in idealism while Shuri thought in reality.

He knew that the decision was still on him no matter who he chose.

"Why don't we join them?" he said alerting all three girls, "Shuri's plan is realistically better however, I don't think that's the right thing to do. With our goal to end wars, we must know how our continent moves, how those rulers think and on how they will take action. We won't know those without meeting those rulers and speaking to them. Also this might be a good opportunity for us. We cannot continue to protect this city and its people forever with only the four of us"

"With this alliance, it would allow us to understand these rulers and form a cooperative relationship with them"

"You're right. I think it's a good idea to befriend them so they won't attack us" said Shuri

"Yes. Besides, I don't want to ignore the suffering masses. We cannot expect to save everyone but if our strength can help any of them, then I want to help those we can. I want to lend them ours strength so that the people will one day smile"

Aisha smiled and blushed as she gazed at Kei, "I knew it. I knew you would agree, my Lord!"

"You're great, Onii-chan!"

"Thank you"

"Do you want to save the people who are suffering?"

"Yes. My Mother always told me that no matter who they are, what they had done, everyone deserves happiness and that is what I want for these people"

"Understood! My Lord, if that's your wish, I'll do everything I can help to make it happen"

"Me too. I feel the same way as Shuri"

"Rinrin too!"

"I thank you"

Kei felt truly grateful for them. Without them, Kei wouldn't have been able to make the decisions he had done.

"Now that we've agreed to join the Anti-Toutaku Alliance, I'd like to discuss the organization of our army. I believe that Aisha-san, Rinrin-chan, My Lord and I must participate in the Anti-Toutaku Alliance"

"Of course. But…what about defending our realm?"

"Someone else will have to do that"

"She's right. Why don't we leave it to the two sisters, Bijiku-san and Bihou-san, who have done well lately?"

"Bihou…" Aisha said as she narrowed her eyes a little, "Are you sure she can do it?"

"She is well versed in our governmental affairs and she has talent in leading in an army. I believe she will do fine"

"Hmm…well if you say so, Shuri"

"Is there something wrong with Bihou?" Kei asked as he was amused by Aisha's slight disagreement

"No…there isn't, really…" she replied blushing again

"?" Kei raised an eyebrow at that, was there really something wrong with Bihou?

"Something bothers me…No, it's nothing after all. Please don't worry…Moreover, after we join the Anti-Toutaku Alliance…"

"Yes, what happens after that?"

"We fight" Rinrin said easily

"Heh, that is true"

"Yes but first there will be introductions, followed by a war council. That's when our stations will be decided"

"Good. Since our strategy will be discussed then, please begin preparation for the campaign"

"Leave it to me!"

"Alright! Rinrin's going to get nice and ready too!"

"Just don't get too excited and forget your Viper Spear" Aisha reminded Rinrin

"That actually a good advice for Rinrin's case" Kei chuckled

"Urrgh! You're both making fun of Rinrin! That's mean!"

"Hahaha" Shuri simply followed suit and laughed

As conversation ended, all headed to their posts to begin preparations for the campaign.

* * *

It has been days since the meeting about the Anti-Toutaku Alliance. Having joined the Alliance, Kei and Shuri now stood ready to attend the war council will all the prominent figures in the Anti-Toutaku Alliance.

"Are you nervous Shuri?"

"Yes My Lord…"

"I know how you feel but don't worry, we'll be helping each other out during the war council, so I'm counting on you ok?"

"S-sure! I'll do my besht!"

"Doesn't seem like if you're having problems with a simple talk"

"Ahoo…I'm sorry"

"No need to apologize, I'm just in the same boat as you"

"It sure is nerve wracking, huh?"

"It sure it. We are already here and we're just going to do it"

"Yes!"

Within the War Council Tent, Kei sat on one of the chairs as he gazed at the other three people. There was Enshou, Sousou and Sonken and to his assumption, they were all females like he had guessed.

Enshou was a average height woman with long blonde hair with the ends ending in a swirling pattern and green eyes. She adorned a golden set of armor.

Sousou meanwhile looked like a little girl with short blonde hair in pigtails that were in a swirling pattern and blue eyes. Her clothes consisted of a simple sleeveless shirt and skirt along with an armor that covered her waist, arms and legs.

Sonken was different than the two as she had a much darker skin, long dark pink hair and a set of clothing that seemed to look more as a combination of a purple robe and armor with golden edges.

"…Ahem. So you are the Messenger from Heaven that the rumors spoke of" Enshou said with a smile

"Indeed I am" Kei replied with a calm stature and a small smile on his face

"What an ugly guy…" Sousou bluntly said

"I didn't come here to talk about looks Sousou-san and to tell you the truth, you're no beauty yourself"

"!" Sousou's prideful expression suddenly turned sour as she glared at Kei until suddenly returning to her prideful look

Sonken meanwhile looked uninterested and turned her gaze at something else

Kei became silent as he waited at least one of the three to talk. The tension was already building until…

"Hey, Tokiwa. Good to see you again" A familiar voice said

"It has been a while Kousonsan-san" he said as he turned to look at red head

"Don't be so formal. Hakukei is fine, how have you been?"

"Quite Alright"

"Hakukei-san, are you friend of this man they call the Messenger from Heaven?" Enshou asked

"Yeah, We fought together"

"I see. How nice to see two people of low breeding become good friends. Ooh-ho-ho-ho!"

Kei simply glanced at Enshou without being bothered by her insult, what took him by surprise the most was the way she laughed

"Hah, I'm used to it by now but I see you still like boasting about your lineage"

"Oh, but I'm not boasting at all. The En Family is an aristocratic line and that's a fact!"

"_What arrogance…_" Kei thought

"Yes, yes, enough of that. Let's move on to the War Council"

"You needn't tell me that, Hakukei-san. Could you please not steal my lines"

"_I can hardly see this woman as a Ruler…_"

"Now then, everyone. The reason you have all gathered here today before me is none other than Toutaku-san. The rube known as Toutaku-san has ignored he social standing and used the authority of the Emperor as her own, an atrocity beyong no other, as I'm sure all of those gathered here are already aware. I wonder if you would all lend me, yes, me! The head of the most distinguished family in all of the Three Kingdoms, your strength, in order to chastise this Toutaku-san"

"Hmph! You're one to talk. You're just trying to use Toutaku to spread your own name throughout the land" Sousou said

"Oh? Did you just say something, miss midget? Your voice was as tiny as your body, so I couldn't hear you"

"Are you losing your hearing a well as your looks, you old hag?"

"Khh! I see the midget has a sharp tongue as well!"

"So do you, hag!"

"Ahh! I can't stand this midget any longer!"

"Quit calling me midget! Do you want to die?"

"I'll direct those exact same words right back at you!"

"ENOUGH!"

_BAM!_

Both Enshou and Sousou stopped and turn to look at the circular table that was destroyed in half, they raised their gaze to the source to find Kei's arm balled in a fist, showing them that he was the one who done it. They also noticed his eyes closed and twitching.

"Hmph! Don't think that i am frightened by such an act"

"Indeed. You are nothing compared to me!"

"That may be true but…" Kei opened his eyes, showing a fierce glare that completely stunned the two, "…this is a discussion about war so enough if your senseless babbling!"

The two simply became quiet and sat in silence. Kousonsan became intrigued on how much Kei was able to handle these people.

Sonken meanwhile had suddenly looked interested and gazed at Kei

"Since that was over, can you please tell us about the current situation Hakukei-san" Kei said

Nodding to him, she then began to explain the situation…

"How do we come up with a justifiable cause for action in the first place? And how will we overcome the impregnable Sishui Pass and Hulao Pass? But more importantly we have to decide how we will organize and command this Anti-Toutaki Alliance, right?"

"…That's right. Hakukei-san is correct" Enshou finally said after getting out of her silence, "There is one thing that our Anti-Toutaku Alliance lacks. Yes, we have an army of elites, beginning with the En Family's soldiers and with the exception of Tokiwa's army, plenty of weaponry and provisions, as well as the spirit to fight. There is only one thing we lack. Do you know what that is, Messenger from Heaven?"

It seemed that her arrogance had completely removed her of the incident which had simply happened

"I am not stupid Enshou-san, what we need is a superior commander. Even if we our united through this alliance, we won't be much successful without the help of a commander who would easily control each army without any problems"

"Hoh, it seems that you're not just some man who uses brute force. Yes, we need someone who is strong, beautiful, noble and of proud lineage. Yes, someone like myself, a descendant of the most distinguished family in the three kingdoms, is necessary as our supreme commander!"

Sousou, Kei and Sonken simply sighed considering that it was pretty obvious who Enshou was already considering the moment she said the words noble and proud lineage.

"O-ho-ho, so here is a question for you all. Who is strong, beautiful, noble and from the most prestigious family in the three kingdoms? Who is suitable to lead this army?"

"Hahh…this is ridiculous" Sousou said, "What a waste of time…"

"Indeed it is" Kei agreed while Sonken remained quiet

"Oh, my? Are there no objections?"

No one said a word. Even for Kei, this was already annoying him to death.

"Then we all agree upon me…Yes! I, En Honsho, of the most distinguished family in all the three kingdoms, shall take command of this Anti-Toutaku Alliance!"

"…Do what you want"

"I have no objection" said Sonken, "However, I'll do what I want with my own army"

"Well, I guess that's alright"

With Enshou's declaration, all four of them left their seats and headed their own ways.

* * *

"What a troublesome meeting" Kei rubbed his head in frustration, in the end, nothing had been decided.

"Oh boy…that was something…"

"You said it, two of them were bickering, while one was simply watching from the sidelines…"

"But what about you my Lord?"

"With those two bickering, I completely lost my patience. While those two were arguing, countless lives are already getting slaughtered. Thinking right now, could we even win against Touraku's army?"

"I don't know. Toutaku's Army is shrouded in mystery to begin with. I can't estimate where we can win or not"

"You're right. We don't even know what they are or how big her army is"

"Indeed. No matter how many spies we send, nobody returns. They have probably been…"

"Taken prisoner or killed, right?"

"Yes, That's why I'm scared. I don't know how this war or our future will turn out…"

"You're right"

Without any form of information about their numbers or weapons, there was no way they could create a perfect attack or counter-attack when the battle begins.

"Anyway…we must try to get as much information as possible for now. Otherwise it'll be too dangerous"

"Good. Sorry if I'm putting much on your shoulder Shuri but please do your best"

"Gladly!"

Smiling at her, Kei and Shuri headed back to the Tokiwa Army's Camp where they were sure the other others were waiting for them.

* * *

"Welcome back" Aisha greeted

"Welcome Back!"

"Good to be back, it has been a very exhausting meeting"

"You must want a rest, how did the war council go?" asked Aisha

"Troublesome. Nothing really was discussed…"

"Huh? Why?"

"Enshou and Sousou bickered while Kousonsan mediated and continued the war council. After that, Enshou selfishly declared herself as Supreme Commander and that was it…"

"What the heck? I don't get it?" Rinrin puffed her cheeks

"Me neither, she would probably tell us about our posts later. But hardly anything was decided in the war council…"

"Yes, to put it simply"

"Why are you wasting our time? How can we fight like this!?"

"I know how you feel Aisha. I tried my best to put the meeting centered on battle but those two wouldn't just simply stop fighting and talk…"

"Ah…S-sorry…"

"I truly understand why you're angry. Right now, we have to take matter to our own hands, I want to send out a spy to gather as much information on the Toutaka Army. Even simple information about their numbers and tactics would be useful"

"We've picked a few men who can run fast and who are clever" Shuri told him, "We'll send them right away"

"Where should we send them?"

"To Sishui Pass and Hulao Pass. I think it'll be difficult to break into their fortresses but we should be able to get a look at them from the heights"

"I hope they can find something out…"

"Me too Rinrin…"

All four felt the uneasy about the lack of intelligence on the enemy. But they needed to put their heads together to atleast gain something.

"Excuse me!"

Turning around, Kei saw a woman with slick black hair with a single antenna, red eyes and wore a robe mixed with red and violet.

The other one was a light blue haired woman with her bangs covering the right side of her face and dark brown eyes. She wore the same clothes as the other woman but instead had the color of dark blue and violet.

"Our Lord, Sou Moutoku needs to see General Kan. Where is General Kan?"

"How dare three rudely barge in like this and ask for someone?"

"Who are you?"

"My name is Kan'U! I am the first vassal of Tokiwa, the Green Dragon Blade of Youzhou. Though hast no right to talk to me that way"

"Watch your mouth! Are you trying to mock me?"

"Stop, Shunran" Sousou ordered as she appeared

"Ah…Karin-sama…"

Sousou approached Aisha with a face full of pride and confidence, "Nice to meet you, I should say, Kan'U. My name is Sou Moutoku, the one who will rule this land someday. I have heard of your reputation. They say you are a just and brave general with beautiful black hair who easily wields the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. That's wonderful. Your technique, your power, and your will to sacrifice yourself for you ideals. That's beautiful"

"Beautiful?" Aisha said embarrassed, "You made it sound like I'm weak…"

"You existence is worthwhile because you're beautiful. Ugly men aren't worth existing" She said glancing at Kei

"Isn't that something that should be said to you, ugly women aren't worth existing too isn't it?"

Sousou glared at him once more and Kei could pretty tell that he was being glared by her followers.

"Hmph! Even if Heaven allows a general as beautiful as you to serve such an ugly man, I will not. Kan'U, why don't you become mine?"

"!?"

"If you become mine, you can realize your ideals using my elite army, not some destitute militia like this. Superior talent, ample soldiers, abundant war funds. All of these will be at your disposal as you pursue your ideals, if you become mine"

"…." Aisha became silent

Kei knew pretty well what was happening, using praising words and finally giving her something that would help her dream, she was practically ensnaring Aisha.

"What do you think? I don't think it's a bad deal"

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"!"

"My only lord is Kei-sama! My Lord and I will realize my ideas without relying on thou!"

Kakuto approached the group and stood in front of her commander, glaring at Aisha

"How rude of you! How dare you talk to Karin-sama that way!"

"Art thou not the ones who mocked me without even understanding what my true wishes were?!"

"I will listen no more! I will not allow you to ridicule Karin-sama!"

"Oh, do you wish to fight? Then if you're prepared to face my blows, come at me!"

The two fighters pointed their weapon at each, both prepared to strike when the other attacks. Kei knew that this was getting problematic, a battle right now would break the alliance

"Aisha, drop your weapon!" He said as he stood in front of Aisha

"But-!"

"Our alliance is already thin, fighting right now would finally break the alliance and we would completely lose! Think about that!"

"Khh…" Aisha hated it but she knew he was right

"You too, Shunran!" Sousou ordered her soldier

"But…"

"Shunran"

"Yes, ma'am…"

"_That was close_" Kei sighed. Not only would the alliance break but also they would be soon fighting Sousou's Army and Kei didn't want to take any chances.

"I'll withdraw for now but remember, I will always get what I want, no matter what means necessary" Sousou said, "Then, once I make you mine, I won't be gentle anymore. I'll take such good care of you that the ropes and whips leave bright red marks on your fair skin"

After finishing her speech, she turned to Kei who she glared

"I'll leave her in your hand for now. But remember, I will do anything to make Kan'U mine. Until that time comes, enjoy your little game of comrades"

"And I will be there to stop you. She is my partner" Kei said making Aisha blush

Sousou smirked as she gazed at the Messenger of Heaven who had a smile on his face

"Oh, is that so? However, your determination means nothing. After all, Heaven is on my side. Heaven has decided that Kan'U will be mine. Huhu…Shunran and Shuuran, I'm done. We're leaving"

"Yes, ma'am"

"As you wish…"

Kei and the girls watched as Sousou and her soldiers returned to their camp, arrogance completely radiating from them. The woman was a problem, she had declared her desire to take Kan'U and it was obvious that she would continue her hunt until she has her.

"Who do they think they are!?"

"Calm down Aisha"

"How can I possibly be calm?!"

"So that's Sousou…she's tiny!"

"But her ambition is extraordinary. No wonder people extol her as a hero"

"How can you calmly judge her like that?!" Aisha glared at the two, "Ahh, Jeez! I want you! How creepy!"

"I can understand her, her ability to show great confidence is amazing. But Aisha, are you sure about declining?"

"Decline what?"

"What Sousou offered. If you want to realize your ideals, don't let me-"

"I'll be angry if you say anymore"

"Hmm?"

"You are my only lord. I vowed that would never change, no matter what happened or…am I not needed her anymore?"

Aisha became downcast causing Kei to sigh, approaching the girl, he placed her hand on her cheek and slightly rubbed it

"Never think that Aisha, I want you to be with me forever"

Aisha smiled as she touched Kei's hand which was placed on her cheek

"Hey, Onii-chan, what about Rinrin?"

"Of course you too, Rinrin" he placed a hand on her head

"Ahoo…"

"Don't worry Shuri, I want you too to be with me"

"Hee, hee"

"The same for me. I want to be with you forever, My Lord…"

"Thank you everyone"

"Onii-chan, you're blushing!" Rinrin grinned

"Hee, hee, she's right"

"I am a little embarrassed but happy that I have three lovely girls standing by my side"

"I-If you say that, then you'll make me embarrassed too!"

"You're both beet red!"

"R-R-R-Rinrin! Anymore and I'll be angry!"

"I'm not afraid when you're like this, Aisha!" Rinrin stuck her tongue out at Aisha

Kei chuckled as Aisha began to chase Rinrin in circles, they were truly like sisters.

"Oh, you all seem to be having fun" a new voice said

Searching for the source of the voice, Kei saw a woman with brown hair tied in a high ponytail and red eyes. Her clothes looked similar to what Aisha wore except for the fact that she had black sleeves and a white skirt.

"Who are you? Why are you here in our camp?" Aisha said as she held Rinrin by the ear

"Now, now, Aisha. Don't be rude to her because of what had just happened"

"S, sorry…"

"Did something happen?" the girl asked

"No, nothing! Who are you, anyway?"

"Me? I'm Bachou. Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too!"

"_Bachou? Looks like another general who served Ryuubi has shown herself. But the question now is will she join us?_"

"Isn't there a daughter of Batou-san, the feudal lord of western Liang, who has the same name?"

"That's me. Batou is my father"

"Oh, then you must be the renowned Bachou the Splendid?"

"Don't be so polite" Bachou blushed, "You're making me itch all over. Just call me Bachou"

"Alright, then I shall. My name is Kan'U. This is-"

"-Rinrin's Chouhi!"

"I'm Shokatsuryou. My common name is Koumei. Nice to meet you!"

"And I am Kei Tokiwa, pleasure to meet you"

"Same here! So you're the Messenger from Heaven, huh?"

"Yes"

"I see. But…hmmm. I don't mean to be rude but you don't look strong…"

"Looks can be deceiving Bachou, you may be surprised of what I could do"

"Really?"

"That's true. When I first met him, he was fighting against three bandits by himself without any form of weapon. My Lord is not weak"

"I see. So that's the kind of strength you have. There have been rumors that the Messenger of Heaven decimated an entire army but looking at you, you don't really look bloodthirsty"

"Rumors are just rumors Bachou"

"Maybe, but I can see that you have a good relationship as a lord and his retainers and that makes me want to smile"

"You flatter me too much"

"A man with great skills and knowledge should at least be praised"

"True. By the way, why are you here, Bachou?"

"Ah, I received a message from Enshou to let all armies know about the deployment formations. That's what I've come to do"

"Deployment formation? Are we finally preparing to attack?"

"I guess so. You'll probably be bringing up the rear guard, since you don't have many soldiers"

"Ungh. Our soldiers are all matchless men of valor though…"

"That's true but with our numbers, I don't want to be the vanguard"

"The rear guard has its own way to fight. With Aisha-san, Rinrin-san and My Lord, I'm sure our army will do a great job!"

"Leave it to us! So where are you stationed, Bachou?" Rinrin asked the brown haired woman

"I, or rather my father, is placed on the left flank, so I'll be there too"

"I see. It's too bad we can't fight together"

"I know. I wish I could fight with the famous Kan'U, Chouhi and Kei…well, just watch me fight from the rear guard, okay?"

"We will. Be safe, okay?"

"Of course. I won't die in a battle like this. See you all later"

"Okay. Be careful Bachou"

"Same to you" she said as she waved her hands as she left

"Well then" Kei turned to Aisha and the others, "Shall we get ready to depart for the front?"

Aisha and Rinrin gave commands to their units and began preparations for battle. As that was happening, Shuri had the presence of mind to procure plenty of weapons from the Anti-Toutaku Alliance. With those finished, they were handed to each of their units, raising their own fighting strength.

* * *

"Gi and Go, have your armies take the vanguard. Lianzhou Alliance, our left flank. Hakukei-san, our right flank. The En family army shall be our main force with the poor, weak and worthless Tokiwa Army positioned as our rear guard"

Kei slightly twitched at the insult, he may accept her insulting him but at his men, he would not simply accept that!

"First, our vanguard will lead the advance, followed by our left and right flanks. We'll intimidate the troops at Sishui Pass with our overwhelming numbers! Alright, everyone! We're breaking through Sishui Pass!"

As her gallant cry echoed around the army, all of them let out a cheer and began to march towards Sishui Pass.

Kei was the only one who stood silent at the cheer, his right hand resting on the tip of the hilt of his blade which hanged at his lower back.

Marching for several hours, the army came face to face with a gateway at the center of the ravine. It was big and well-fortified.

"Is that Sishui Pass?" Kei asked

"Yes. It's a fort to protect the capital, Luoyang" Shuri answered

"Attacking a stronghold like Sishui Pass with a frontal assault is an insane idea…"

"I completely agree with Aisha-san but I don't think Enshou is the type to adopt any strategy, so once the army is ranked up, I imagine she'll give the order to charge"

"Mmm…Enshou is stupid"

"You're right Rinrin. She relies too much on our numbers and from how she had said her plans a while back, I think that we don't have a second plan when the scales suddenly change"

"We can't sabotage the endeavor"

"However, if she attacks without any stratey, does she have any idea how heavy the losses…"

"You're absolutely right. We're in the rear guard, so we are actually in a relatively good position"

"I feel sorry for the vanguard. I hope Bachou will be okay"

"I'm sure she'll be fine" Aisha said confidently, "Ordinary soldiers are no match for her"

"I hope so but I cannot shake the feeling of worry"

"A message from general Kan!" said a soldier

"Yes! Speak up!" Asha ordered

"We now know the leaders of our enemy! The general is Kayuu! The aide-de-camps are Rishuku, Koshin and Choushin!"

"Thank you. Return to your post and rest for a while"

"Yes!" the soldier bowed and then left

"Kayuu-san is the general, huh?" Shuri mumbled

"What is she like?"

"She will be a tough general…"

"But it'll be a cakewalk once Rinrin goes up against her!"

"It won't be that easy" she reminded Rinrin, "We should pull ourselves together"

"That's right but considering that we're in the rear, it won't affect us much…" Kei began to think until all four heard the sound of men shouting

"What is it?!" Aisha asked a near soldier

"T-there's an enemy army behind us! It's an ambush by the Toutaku Army!"

"Haroo?! M-My Lord! We must prepare to intercept them quickly! Aisha-san, Rinrin-chan!"

"Leave it to me!"

"Yes! All units, about face! We're more than enough to intercept the enemy!"

"Prepare for battle! Show them how strong the Tokiwa Army really is!"

"YEAH!" All the men shouted at Kei's announcement

* * *

Holding his sword in his hand, Kei ran towards the army in a burst of incredible speed. Despite the loud clashes of swords and the screams of the soldiers, some of the soldiers could hear the sound of fast footsteps.

Kei appeared on the first soldier and quickly slashed the man's neck before going to the next in an instant.

"What the?"

"He's moving too fast!"

"Encircle him!"

20 soldiers ran towards him with their weapons ready

"This will be a good time to try this" holding the wakizashi by the scabbard, Kei stood silent as he waited for the attackers to come.

20

One soldier jumped towards him with his sword raised, Kei quickly made a side turn and slashed the man's neck.

19

The second one came from the side and lunged his spear at Kei. Gripping his scabbard tight, Kei used it to push the tip of the spear aside which he finished as he pierce the man's neck

18

Two came from opposite sides preparing to strike him. He leaped towards the one at the right and grabbed the man by the neck which he then slammed the tip of the handle at the man's gut.

Grabbing the fallen man's sword, Kei quickly threw it the approaching soldier causing the man to stop his charge, using the chance, Kei ran towards the soldier and slashed his head clean off.

16

Placing his foot under a spear, Kei raised it and quickly kick it towards a soldier, killing him instantly. Kei slammed his feet and ran towards four more, slashing those who were near him.

11

He continued his assault as he took down another five men. Each man slashed on the throat and chest.

6

He grabbed a sword that was struck on the ground and killed another soldier who tried to attack him from behind. Twisting the wakizashi as he now gripped the sword in a reverse formation, Kei threw both swords at the two soldiers, hitting them straight on the head.

Appearing in front of the man who fell thanks to the blade pierced on his forehead, Kei grabbed the wakizashi and kicked the fallen body down.

Looking at the last three, Kei ran towards them and quickly killed them without hesitation

0

Kei gripped his blade in the usual manner and waved it, removing the blood from the blade.

He returned the blade back to its scabbard and looked at the battlefield, despite their very small number, they were proving their strength, preventing the enemy from completely decimating them.

He looked from afar and saw Aisha heading towards the Kayuu. Preparing to run, Kei stopped as soon found himself blocked by an army of soldiers

"Damn it!" He unsheathe his sword and ran towards the soldiers, blade readied.

* * *

"Shit! We couldn't overcome them. All units, about face! Return to Sishui Pass!" Kayuu ordered as she watched her army being destroyed by the second

"I won't let you escape!" Aisha shouted

"Hnggh!" Kayuu performed a fast slash which Aisha blocked

"Ngh!"

"Hmm? The Green Dragon Blade. So you're the Kan'U they speak of, huh?"

"So you know my name? That makes things simple. General Kayuu, face me fair and square!"

"Hmph! You may be making a name for yourself, but there's no point in defeating the general of a small army. Make a swift retreat!"

"Hold it!"

"Be gone!" she said as she attacked again…

_TING!_

"What?" Looking at the blade of her spear, she found it being blocked by a strange blade wielded by a man

"Aisha, are you ok?"

"Yes my Lord"

"So this is the Messenger from Heaven. No matter, if fortune wills it, we shall meet again"

Kayuu retreated along with the other soldiers.

"Ngh…She got away" she said before turning to Kei, "My Lord are you alright?"

"I'm…fine…" Kei tiredly said.

"Your wounds…"

"It's ok…none of them…are fatal"

"I'm deeply sorry that I wasn't able to capture Kayuu"

"Do not worry…as long as you are safe…it's ok"

"Aneja! Onii-chan!"

"Rinrin are ok?"

"Rinrin's fine, Hey Aisha, was Kayuu strong?"

"Yes. She predicted how the Anti-Toutaku Alliance would act and laid an ambush in our rear at the vase of the mountains. She's a good general and judging from her attack. She is likely one of great prowess herself"

"Yes" Kei agreed as he stood up, "I felt the incredible strength in her strike"

"I see. Rinrin's getting excited!"

Heh. Only Rinrin could be this excited against fighting a powerful enemy

"My Lord!"

"What is it?"

"General Kayuu's detached force has broken through our blockade and entered Sishui Pass!"

"What are the allied armies doing? How could they let them rejoin the main force?"

"That's because Enshou is a supreme commander…" Rinrin giggled

"We shall observe for now. If the front line comes to a stalemate, we shall move"

"That's right. We'll let the soldiers rest for a while"

* * *

"My Lord!" Shuri called as she returned after leaving moments ago

"Yes? What is it?"

"We've received a message from the main army. They said that the Tokiwa Army is the advance and aid Gi and Go in breaking through the gates"

"Wait! Advance into that hectic battle? If we do that, things will become ven more chaotic! What is Enshou thinking?!"

"She isn't thinking anything and pass two meat buns" Grinned Rinrin

"I agree with Rinrin, she is mostly getting tired of waiting causing her to think of such a plan"

"Both of you are right but this is an order from the supreme commander…"

Kei rubbed his forehead as he began to think of some way that could help them. Damn Enshou, she was going to get them killed…


End file.
